


To Strive, To Seek, To Find, and Not To Yield

by TheSofterGentlerMe



Series: Finn and The Moms of Power [10]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fertility Issues, Finn and the Moms of Power, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Abuse, It's time for Finn to start searching, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 137,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26896540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSofterGentlerMe/pseuds/TheSofterGentlerMe
Summary: Finn was found on the streets of Seaworthy years before by Catra and Adora when they were very young and taken in by them and eventually adopted. Adora and Catra and their friends tried to find out why they were left on the streets of Seaworthy but ran into dead end after dead end. Now, Finn is an older teenager and they've been asking questions about themself for months now. With the help of their friends and family, they've decided it's time for them to go out and try and solve the mystery of where they came from.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Glimbow - Relationship, Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra), catradora - Relationship
Series: Finn and The Moms of Power [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862320
Comments: 116
Kudos: 62





	1. To follow knowledge like a sinking star

**Author's Note:**

> Not every character in the tags will show up immediately but they will show up. I'm excited about this one and I hope you are as well. 
> 
> Shall we?

Finn stood on the edge of the cliff looking down over the desert valley floor. The wind whipped sand against their goggles and ruffled the cloth tied around their face. A thin line of smoke drifted out of the chimney of the house sitting in a small grove of bare trees nestled around the only known water for kilometers in any direction. Two old Horde skiffs, one in pieces, sat in front of the house. Izzy focused binoculars on the house, holding them steady on a rock, and said, “Blue door with a green design on it. That should be the place.”

Oak, standing next to Finn, looked at the map in her hand and said, “It does match up with what we were told.” 

Artho, squatted down next to Izzy, said, “Even if it doesn’t, it’s not like there’s anything else out here.”

“Now what?” Finn said. 

Izzy stood up and tucked the binoculars away in the case strapped to her hip and then took Finn’s hand. Finn tried to see her eyes through the goggles she wore but the tinted glass hid them away and a cloth covered her face. Her horns poked out of the felt hat she wore and curved along the broad brim.

“Well, I think we go down there and see if that’s your biological mother in there or not,” Izzy said, squeezing Finn’s hand. 

This had started some time before when Finn and Izzy had walked into Bright Moon castle. They’d camped out the night before and had started planning on how they were going to search for Finn’s biological family. They’d stopped at Finn’s house long enough to unload their camping gear and then went right on to the castle. 

Izzy looked around as they walked in under an arch and said, “You know there’s some discussion in the architectural community on whether or not some of the style of the castle was directly influenced by the First Ones while they were still on Etheria. They point to the arches and high pointed features of it. Others argue that it’s just the original architects being aware of the First Ones work but having only known them as ruins. Then of course there’s an argument that it’s just a coincidence and that it is its own style that predates the First Ones. It doesn’t help that no one knows just how old the castle actually is beyond certain parts that were reconstructed.”

Finn was about to ask if she had an opinion on the matter when their Uncle Bow came around a corner and said, “Izzy, I couldn’t help but overhear you. You really need to meet my dads sometime. I think you three would have a great time talking.” 

Finn ran up and gave Bow a hug and said, “Hey, Uncle Bow!”

“Hey, Finn,” Bow said, hugging them back. Izzy held her hand out in a formal handshake and Bow took it and gave it a shake while keeping one arm around Finn’s shoulder. “And Izzy. It’s good to see you both. What brings you up to see us?” 

“I was going to show Izzy the castle a bit,” Finn said. “We’ll drop in and see Capella too but don’t let her know. I want it to be a surprise.” 

Bow smiled and said, “Well, I would but Little Miss Capella is grounded right now.”

Finn gave a little laughing groan and said, “Oh no, what did she do now?” 

“She thought it’d be funny to use her illusion magic to put a big sign that flashed ‘Poop’ behind Glimmer while she was having a state function in the throne room,” Bow said. “To be fair, Angella thought it was funny. Micah looked a bit proud himself.” 

Finn said, “Well, judging by your smile, I’m assuming Glimmer was the only one who didn’t find it funny?”

“No, she did, afterwards, and it’s just a short grounding,” Bow said. 

“And I’m sure it’s a horrible punishment being grounded in her opulent room with her many toys,” Finn said with a laugh.

Bow rolled his eyes and said, “We took the toys out. Most of them.” 

“She’s got it rough,” Finn said. “Anyway, we’re going to look around.” 

Bow gave them a short side hug and said, “Alright. If you want to stay for dinner we’d love to have you. At least drop by before you go.” 

“I’ll let you know and I will. Thanks, Uncle Bow,” Finn said as they and Izzy started walking again. 

As Finn and Izzy started down the spiral staircase into Bright Moon’s lower levels Izzy said, “Did he intend to leave me out of the dinner invitation?” 

Finn looked at her and said, “I didn’t think he did. I assume he meant you as in us.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “Ok.”

“Are you worried about it?” Finn said as they came out into a broad low ceilinged corridor.

Izzy said, “I just… well, you know I just wasn’t sure.” 

“You want me to ask him?” Finn said. 

Izzy wavered for a moment as they walked and then said with resolve, “No. I will take your word that he intended to ask both of us.” 

As they walked down the corridor Finn pointed out a few places and then they stood in front of two average looking doors. Above the door was a simple sign that said, “Archives.” 

“I expected something a little more…,” Izzy started to say.

“Extravagant? Somber? Elegant? Stately?” Finn said with a grin. 

Izzy gave a little amused noise and said, “Yes.” 

Finn smiled as they opened the door for Izzy and the two walked into a small room. It had a few nice carpets on the ground and a wooden desk with a potted fern on it. Two comfortable office chairs sat in front of it. Behind the desk a woman blinked both sets of her eyelids as they walked in and tucked a lock of green hair behind her ear. Izzy looked around the small room and saw a few chairs, a small coffee table and a couch but nothing else except a bookcase behind the desk with some books in it. 

The woman gave a toothy smile that still managed to be friendly and said, “Good morning, my name is Ledgeren. How can I help you two today?” 

Finn stepped forward with a big smile and said, “Yes, my name is Finn and this is Izzy. We’d like to have access to the archives please.”

Izzy looked around the room some more. She was wondering if the archive was elsewhere and this was just an office for arranging access. Then she looked at the bookcase and realized it was nothing of the sort. She felt her heart speed up a little as she realized that entrance was hidden behind the bookcase. 

“Well, I may be able to arrange that for you. Are you looking for something in particular? We don’t really allow people to just wander through the archives,” Ledgeren said. 

Finn debated making something up but from what they had heard, the collections were vast and if they ended up in the wrong section they might not even be able to sneak over to where they needed to be or even necessarily be able to ever find it. 

“Yes, I want to review the files that were deposited here that relate to the search for Adora and Catra’s adopted child’s biological family,” Finn said. “I believe it would have gone in here about ten years or so ago if that helps.”

There, they’d said it and Finn felt a thrill run through them as they waited. 

Ledgeren looked at Finn and Izzy and Finn realized she didn’t have any data pads or anything electronic on her desk, just a few notebooks and some pens and pencils. She nodded after a moment and said, “Well, I will say that’s not something we’ve ever had anyone ask for since it went in here but it’s also something that I can’t allow you to access.”

Finn got a frown on their face and said, “Why not? And not to be rude, but how do you know? You didn’t consult a data pad or anything and they are a huge collection of stuff. You even said that you don’t ever have anyone ask for it.” 

Ledgeren gave another toothy smile and said, “I know you’re an Etherian so I’m surprised you can ask how I can know something without using technology.”

Izzy nodded and said quietly, “Magic. You use magic to know what’s in the Archives and what its status is as well don’t you?”

“Is that a question or a statement?” Ledgeren said with a tilt of her head.

Izzy straightened up and said, “I did say it as a question but it’s a statement. That’s how you do it and you’ve got the entry hidden behind the bookcase, probably magically protected as well as technologically protected.” 

Ledgeren grinned and said, “Well, you are a bit perceptive.” 

Finn looked at Izzy and saw the bookish Izzy, the Izzy that was confident in the facts she read and absorbed as easy as breathing, as she said, “How can we access them? It’s very important to us.” 

“Well, I could say you shall have to answer some riddles, pass some test of wits, or solve an ancient puzzle to gain what you seek but honestly, we haven’t done that kind of thing in hundreds of years. All the best puzzle answers always get out anyway,” Ledgeren said. “To answer you though, I’m not going to tell you.”

Finn started to get upset but Izzy nodded and said, “So it is a test then.” 

Finn looked at her and said, “Izzy, there’s no test. She’s just not going to help us.” 

Izzy sat down in a chair in front of the desk and gave her little smile again as she looked at Finn and said, “Yes, there is, but she’s being very circumspect about it.”

Ledgeren leaned back in her chair and said, “Or I could just be telling you that I’m not going to tell you how because I’m not going to tell you.” 

This was a problem and Izzy loved to solve those but she had to take a breath all the same as her heart raced. Facing off against someone wasn’t part of her normal problem solving. Izzy thought for a moment and tried to parse what Ledgeren had said to her already when she thought of something.

“I think you would have already told us to leave then,” Izzy said. 

Ledgeren gave a short nod and said, “Maybe.”

Finn sat down in a chair and watched Izzy think some more. 

“I’ve heard about accessing the Bright Moon Archives before. It’s not supposed to be a big deal,” Izzy said. 

“This is true, we do pride ourselves on making parts of the Archive accessible to the public,” Ledgeren said with a nod. 

“Which means that some parts aren’t accessible to the public but what’s the point of even having them if there’s not a way to get in for those who need it?” Izzy said. 

Ledgeren just sat and waited as Izzy thought some more. 

Finn said, “What if I get the Queen to say it’s alright?” 

Izzy looked at Finn with a little flash of irritation. She’d wanted to solve the problem, not circumvent it.

“I’d tell her no,” Ledgeren said with a shrug.

Izzy looked back in surprise and said, “Wait, you’d tell Queen Glimmer that she can’t grant access to her own archives?” 

“They’re not hers, they’re Bright Moons, and while she can certainly ask and I’d agree in most cases there are some matters in which I don’t answer to her,” Ledgeren said.

Izzy sat her head in her hand and tapped a finger on the side of her head. Finn had seen the look before when she was trying to solve a particularly difficult stagecraft problem or was stuck when working on one of her detailed models. 

Finn sighed and thought they’d have to get their moms involved for this but they weren’t quite ready to talk with them about it. While Finn thought that, Izzy was looking at the bookshelf and suddenly noticed a book that was about She-Ra. 

Izzy gave a little smile again and said, “I know that She-Ra was one of the people who deposited the material. She-Ra could override Queen Glimmer in this matter of who could and couldn’t access the material I believe.”

Ledgeren gave a little nod and said, “Not many people know about this material and even fewer know who put it there. How do you know?”

Izzy gave a grin back and said, “You know what, I’m not going to tell you.” 

Ledgeren gave a laugh and said, “Fair enough.” 

Finn thought they saw where she was going with this and put their hand on Izzy’s arm to tell her that they weren’t ready to get Adora involved. Izzy looked at Finn and gave them her little smile and said, “Trust me?”

Finn said, “I do.” 

“What I know now is that the material is restricted, that Queen Glimmer can’t override your decision not to grant us access, that few people know it’s here and even fewer know that it was She-Ra who put it here, and you didn’t refute me when I said that she could grant or deny access. Of course, you didn’t say I was correct either but I’m going to go with that she can do it. I know the material is about the search for their child’s biological family and I assume that Adora would want it protected from most people. But I think she would still want access to the few people she would think deserve it no matter when they came to see it,” Izzy said. 

Finn was nodding along and suddenly saw where Izzy was going. 

“I’m Adora and Catra’s child. That information is about the search for my biological family and I want access to it,” Finn said. 

Izzy took Finn’s hand and gripped it tightly. 

Ledgeren looked at them both and said, “No.” 

They both looked at her with shock. Finn finally stuttered out, “Why not!?” 

Ledgeren just shrugged and said, “No is a complete sentence.” 

Izzy gave Finn’s hand a squeeze. Finn grimaced and said, “Of course, it’s part of the test.”

Ledgeren just sat there as Izzy and Finn both thought and then Finn remembered something that Catra and Adora had told them many times. They could ask them anything and they’d answer because they figured if Finn thought to ask, then they deserved an answer. 

“I want access to it because it’s about me, it may have a clue to my past, and I deserve to know,” Finn said. 

Ledgeren nodded and said, “Why?” 

Finn said, “Because this isn’t some idle curiosity or I’d just ask my moms. I’m going to go out and try to find my biological family. I need access to that information to try and figure out where to start.”

There, it was out. Finn wasn’t sure if she was going to tell anyone but it wasn’t like they’d intended to keep the search secret forever.

Ledgeren gave a short nod and said, “Very well then. Adora was very clear when you could be granted access to the information on your own. I wondered when you came in if this was going to be one of them and it is.”

Finn said, “Wait, so you knew who I was when I walked in?” 

“Of course, Finn,” Ledgeren said. “I helped get the archive stored and have seen some of the material. We also still occasionally store material about your mothers and you show up there as well.”

“Then why the big song and dance beforehand!?” Finn said, throwing their arms up. 

“That was my suggestion. I do certainly miss the old riddles and puzzles,” Ledgeren said. 

Finn sputtered a little and Izzy said, “What if we weren’t able to figure it out?” 

“There are ways around it,” Ledgeren said. “They aren’t even that difficult. It’s not like it used to be. I remember one old puzzle we used to use that was fiendishly difficult. I’ve always thought about digging it up and seeing about selling it as a game now.” 

Izzy looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes as a thought came into her mind.

“Just how old are you?” Izzy said. 

Ledgeren gave her a smile and said, “No, I won’t tell you and that’s not a puzzle or a test. I simply won’t tell you.” 

Finn said, “Ok, before you both start going at each other in a puzzle loop again, I’d really like to see my archive.” 

“Of course. If you two will help me out we’ll get in,” Ledgeren said. 

Izzy jumped up and said, “Do we have to stand in certain parts of the room to get the bookcase to open?” 

Ledgeren said, “Remember when I said you were a  _ bit _ perspective?” 

Izzy looked at her as Ledgeren turned to the bookcase and gave it a push to the side. There was a small kitchen with a table and a few chairs. A coffee machine sat on the counter and Ledgeren went over and filled up a mug and came back out. 

“That’s not where the archive is located. That’s my break room,” she said as she took a sip before setting the mug on the shelf. “However, if you’ll kindly move those two chairs back a bit, I’ll show you the entrance.” 

Izzy and Finn pulled the chairs back and then watched as Ledgeren moved her hands counterclockwise and a glowing orange sigil formed in front of her. The desk carefully moved to the side and four glowing lines appeared in the solid concrete floor under them. She carefully moved the sigil and placed it over the center of the rectangle the lines formed and let it go. It sank into the floor and then flashed briefly. The lines disappeared and for a moment, nothing seemed to happen and then slowly the orange lines formed again and the concrete slowly rose out of the floor and moved to the side of the room where it settled with hardly a sound. 

Both Izzy and Finn stood in amazement. 

“That’s… that’s… wow!” Finn said. 

“Thank you. We do take the protection of the archives seriously,” Ledgeren said. 

”Did you put the protection in after Prime’s invasion?” Finn said. 

Ledgeren shook her head and said, “No, it’s been like this for a very long time. Prime’s invasion is not the first time Bright Moon has been overrun by enemies and lucky for us too that we had it in place as the archives survived his invasion intact. The clones destroyed this office but never found their way in. Busted my coffee machine as well which I thought was a bit uncalled for.” 

They all walked to the hole that had formed. Finn expected to see a dark and foreboding stairwell winding off into darkness but instead found a gently sloping ramp running down to a well lit room. They walked to the bottom of the ramp and they saw rows of shelves full of books, boxes, and scrolls. Desks with lamps and chairs were dotted around the large room and doors lined the walls with artwork and tapestries filling in between them. Ledgeren gave them a room number and handed them a key. Then she said, “That is a room two levels below this one. The ramp to the next levels are at the end of the room that way. Do not lose your way for if you get lost, you are doomed.” 

Izzy and Finn both looked at her with shock and she broke out into laughter. 

“No, not really. If you get lost there’s an intercom system. You can call me or one of the other archivists. They’re around here somewhere and they’ll come help you find your way,” Ledgeren said. “If you need any help while you’re in the room, the same applies. When you’re ready to leave, use the intercom and someone will come show you out. Restrooms are near the ramps.” 

Finn was shaking their head a little and said, “Thank you for your help and as annoying as it was for a moment I do appreciate your flair for the dramatic.” 

“I imagined you would, being involved with theater. I assure you though it was entirely for my own interest. I love my job but it does get a bit dull day in and day out sometimes,” she said. “And Izzy, come see us if you ever decide you might be interested in working here.”

Izzy gave a little smile and said, “To see the old puzzles if nothing else.” 

They parted then and Finn and Izzy went walking through the room. They looked around at the murals on the ceiling and they realized they were constellations. 

“How old is this room?” Finn said. 

“I was going to say it's probably recent but the constellations aren’t ours and I’m pretty sure this isn’t recent painting,” Izzy said. 

“So old then,” Finn said. 

“Really old,” Izzy said as they reached the ramp. 

They followed the ramps down and came out to a room fairly similar to the first. They found the room they were looking for without much problem. Finn stood before the non-descript door tapping their foot.

Izzy took their hand and stood there with them as they stared at the door. 

“Two years. They told me that they searched for two years across the entire planet,” Finn said quietly. “And that was when the trail would have been fresh.”

Izzy watched them but didn’t say anything. Finn continued to tap their foot and finally stepped forward to the door with Izzy. 

“Finn?” Izzy said as they stood at the door.

Finn looked up at her and she gave them a quick kiss. 

“For luck?” Finn said with a smile. 

“Because I hadn’t kissed you in a while and it seemed a good time,” Izzy said. 

Finn squeezed her hand and then let go to unlock the door and they walked into the room. 


	2. Some work of noble note, may yet be done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Izzy plan on some research and have a bit of a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Finn wasn’t sure what they’d been expecting when they entered the room but what they found were eight foot tall shelves full of boxes along two long walls and then along the back wall as well. A large table ran down the center with chairs on either side. Izzy walked up to the boxes and started reading off the labels on some of them. 

“This section seems to be population censuses of various towns for dates around when you were found. Economic information as well. I see boxes of charts, maps, and surveys as well further down. I think they put in anything they thought might help you understand the world as it was at the time,” Izzy said as she looked up and down the shelves. 

Finn though was looking at a small box that sat on the center of the table. Under it was a sealed folder. The box simply said, “For Finn,” on the lid. Izzy turned around and saw Finn sitting down and pulling the box over. She walked over and sat down beside them as Finn opened it up. Inside were envelopes. Finn pulled a few out. 

“To Finn, From Adora,” Finn read on the first one. They looked at a few more. “To Finn, From Catra. To Finn, From Bow. To Finn, From Glimmer.” 

Finn sat them down and ruffled through the others. 

“They left me letters. It looks like everyone who was involved left me a letter,” Finn said. 

Izzy hugged them close as Finn wiped at their eyes. 

“Should I read them?” Finn asked her.

“I think so. They wouldn’t have left them if they didn’t want you to read them,” Izzy said. 

Finn extended a claw and slit open the one from Adora and began to read it quietly.

_ Dear Finn, _

_ I hope that when you read this that you’re not here because you feel lost or unhappy. I hope you’re just here because you’re curious and otherwise you have a good life.  _

_ I’m sorry we couldn’t find anyone for you but we’ve all decided that we can’t continue to chase this. It’s been two years now and we feel like if someone was going to come forward they would have or we would have found them. Catra and I love you so much and we’re going to try and give you the best home that we can.  _

_ I was going to write some long thing but really, if I haven’t said it to you by now then having it here won’t help any. I do hope we gave you a good home. I hope we were good parents for you. And I hope you find what you’re looking for and that you’re happy.  _

_ I love you, _

_ Adora _

Finn sat the letter down and wiped at their eyes a little more. Izzy, who’d been reading over their shoulder, said, “Are you ok?”

Finn nodded and said, “I am. I was just thinking they probably thought I wouldn’t read this until… well until after they were gone.” 

Finn picked up the one from Catra and paused for a moment before opening that one. Finn gave a brief smile as they could tell Catra had really tried hard on writing the letter as her handwriting was normally atrocious. The content of the letter was short.

_ Hey there Finn,  _

_ We never did track down the people who left you in Seaworthy. Wasn’t for lack of trying either and it’s a shame because I really would have liked to have a nice long talk with them. We’re stopping the search and I say good because they don’t deserve you. Adora and I decided when we found you that you were going to stay with us as long as you needed and I’m ready to see that through. We’ll be the family you should have had all along. _

_ Now if you’re reading this then you’ve got questions about your biological family yourself and of course you’ve found this place or you wouldn’t even be reading this. Maybe you’re going to try and find them yourself, maybe you just gotta ask why and you think that answer is here. I get it and I hope you get what you’re needing. Good luck and I love you.  _

_ All my love, _

_ Catra _

Finn sat it down and looked at the other letters. Finn made a decision and carefully folded up the letters they’d already read and put them back in the box with the others. They closed the box and put it back in the middle of the table. Izzy looked at Finn and they said, “I’ll, um, I’ll read the rest later. We should get started.” 

They then looked at the folder that sat on the table. It simply said “Summary” on it. Finn picked it up and broke the seal on it and opened it up. Finn flipped through the pages and saw some charts, maps, tables, and a bunch of writing. They sat it on the table and began reading it with Izzy. It took them a while to go through, Izzy taking notes the whole way, and when they were done they both sat back in the chair and thought in silence for a little bit before Izzy broke the silence. 

“They really did get around didn’t they?” Izzy said as she sat up again to go over her notes. 

“Kind of makes me feel dumb thinking I might dig up something new,” Finn said. 

Izzy had pulled the summary to her and said, “I know what you mean. This is pretty thorough. Would you do me a favor though and grab that box for me please?”

Finn looked at the box she pointed at and stood up and carried it over. 

“What’s this for?” Finn said. 

“Nothing. I just saw a reference to it in here about the Kingdom of Snows and I wanted to see the actual file on it,” Izzy said. 

Finn pulled the top off the box and saw folders inside of it. 

“Which one in particular?” Finn said. 

“Town of Moraine,” Izzy said. 

Finn flipped through and pulled out the folder and handed it over to Izzy. She opened the thin folder and started reading through it.

“Why that one?” Finn said as they stood behind her and read over her shoulder. 

Izzy made a few notes and said, “Something you told me once. You said that the person who left you in Seaworthy was named Snow-by. That sounds like a name from the Kingdom of Snows to me. There was a lot of investigation in the capitol there and some of the other towns including Moraine. Moraine though seems to be the place that got the least amount of time spent there.” 

Finn sat down and said, “Maybe they thought it was a weak lead? My moms did say they got a lot of stuff that got dismissed pretty quickly because it didn’t match or was pretty obviously just wrong.” 

“I know but we gotta start somewhere and the smaller ones just kind of make sense to start with to me,” Izzy said as she handed Finn pages as she read them. 

Finn laughed and said, “You’re going to go through this anyway even though I just said I felt dumb thinking we might dig something up when it’s so obvious how well they covered it back then.” 

“Well, yeah,” Izzy said as she looked up at Finn with a big smile. “If for no other reason than this. Finn, I’m in the _Bright Moon Archives_! Not only that I’m in a highly restricted section of it that not even the Queen herself can grant access to _and_ I get to do research in it _._ To top it off, it’s research that might help you. Do you have any idea how _cool_ all of this is for me!?” 

It was incredibly rare to see her smile so big and Finn grinned at her as they felt themself buoyed up by her happiness. 

“You’re right, we can do this. Sure, some of the most notable people on Etheria tried… to…,” Finn said as they trailed off and felt a thrill run through them. 

“What?” Izzy said. 

“Izzy, I think you hit on it! Why are they smaller?” Finn said pointing at the Moraine folder and then answered without waiting. “Because they didn’t find much but think about what I just said. The most notable people on Etheria were looking for them! My moms got recognized just walking into a little seaside place in Seaworthy when we went there!” 

Izzy was getting excited as well and said, “If they were noticed just doing that, asking questions everywhere would certainly get them noticed and word would get around. People would go into hiding or just clam up. The places with little information are the places to start not just because it’ll be a little easier to get through but because those could be the places where someone successfully hid out!” 

Finn was on their feet in excitement and said, “Yes! Exactly! Which means we can go in quietly and maybe find things they couldn’t!” 

Izzy jumped up and gave them a hug and they both did a little dance when suddenly Finn lost all of their elation. 

“Izzy, wait, wait. They were hiding. That means...,” Finn said. 

Izzy held them by their arms and said, “Yeah. I know. They were hiding from being reconnected with you. And Finn, there’s something I kind of wanted to ask and I guess now is the time. These people abused you. Why do you want to find them?” 

“I’ve thought about that actually. I think it’s because I do want to find my biological parents. I don’t even remember them, well, I don’t think I do. And the others, I want to ask them why. I don’t think I’ll get an answer but at least I’ll face them down. I want to ask my biological parents why as well if I can. There’s just a whole bunch of why’s flying around. Perfuma used to say that the closure we think we’re going to get is almost never the closure we do get. I guess I just want to close this in whatever way I can and I can’t do that if I don’t try to find them myself,” Finn said as they sat down on the edge of the table. 

Izzy flexed her right hand a little and nodded and said, “I get what you mean about closure. Doesn’t matter though. I’m with you, Finn. All the way to the end and beyond.”

“Me too. All the way to the end and beyond,” Finn said with a smile. 

They hugged again and held each other for a long time. When they broke apart and sat back down, they started combing through the summary and making a list of towns and areas that had been promising but had ended up being dismissed quickly. 

“My moms did say there were some attempts at blackmail and scams,” Finn said after a little while. “We’ll have to double check all these against that as well.”

Izzy didn’t look up from her writing and said, “There’s a table for that in the summary. Near the back. I don’t think they included any of those in the main summary but it can’t hurt to check.”

Finn stretched and pulled out a piece of paper with handwriting on it from the Moraine folder. Finn gave a giggle and Izzy looked up quizzically. 

“Sorry,” Finn said as they turned the paper around so Izzy could see. “This is Mother’s report. Her handwriting is terrible when she just writes unless she puts a lot of effort into it. She calls it Horde code writing because it’s so bad."

“What's in it?” Izzy said.

Finn read it as best they could and said, “Mostly just a report on their findings in Moraine. Although at the end she’s griping about the weather. She hates the cold.” 

Finn handed it to Izzy and Izzy looked it over. 

“Does this say beekeeper right here?” Izzy said pointing at a patch of scrawl.

Finn leaned over and looked at it. 

“That’s what I thought it said. Says she interviewed one because he’d sent in a tip. Something about a worker that had gone down towards Salineas that fit my description of Snow-by but the guy they thought it was actually turned out to be in the town and didn't fit,” Finn said.

Izzy stood up and walked along the shelves until she found a box and pulled it over to the table. She took the top off and found a bound report inside. She handed it to Finn and sat back down. 

“Agricultural output for the Kingdom of Snows?” Finn said. “I’m guessing I should look up Moraine and bees then.”

Izzy nodded and finished up her notes while Finn flipped through the report. They were actually surprised at the amount of agricultural activity that went on in the Kingdom of Snows and it seemed like they made good use of hot springs, greenhouses, and the like. Finally they found the section they were looking for. 

“Alright, the glacier bee is the only bee species native to the Kingdom of Snows and its native range is the area around Moraine,” Finn said. “It produces wax and honey. I guess the honey isn’t really edible but gets used in medicine and Moraine’s main industry is the bee. Oh, that’s cool, it’s got a picture of the honey. It looks like blue-green ice. Does that help any?”

Izzy shrugged and said, “I don’t know, I just really wanted to know about the bees to be honest but wanted to keep taking notes on what I’ve got here as well.”

Finn laughed and said, “This is just like studying with you for class.” 

Izzy gave a little smile and said, “Well you are a good study partner.” 

Finn looked around at the rest of the room and sighed and said, “This is going to take forever.” 

Izzy looked around as well and said, “I think they’re going to need a larger room or at least taller shelves.” 

Finn looked at her and said, “Why?” 

“Because we’re going to have our own stuff to add eventually,” Izzy said. “I wonder what the process for getting it officially added to the archives is?” 

Finn saw the gleam in Izzy’s eyes and said, “Ask Ledgeren. I’m pretty sure she’ll tell you after the appropriate riddle is solved.” 

Izzy laughed and said, “That thought is amazing to be honest. I’m looking forward to it.” 

Finn looked at a watch and said, “Want to keep going or do you want to knock off? We probably need to figure out how to get out of here anyway and I need to tell Uncle Bow we’re going to eat with them.”

Izzy nodded and said, “I should check in with Grandma too. Alright, let’s see what magical means is required to leave.” 

They left the boxes on the table and Izzy packed away the notes in her satchel and they left the room. They found an intercom and Finn walked up to it and pushed a button. 

“Uhhhh, hello? This is Finn and Izzy and we’re ready to go now?” they said. 

The speaker crackled and a voice they didn’t recognize said, “Odia here. No problem. I’ll come on down and get you.” 

Shortly afterwards a man in a long flowing robe walked up to them. Izzy looked them up and down and said, “Is that an official archivist uniform?”

Odia laughed and said, “No, there isn’t one. I just really like it. It’s comfy. Alright, Ledgeren said to show you two out a side door. She also said that you can come back in that way as well but not to try and bring anyone else with you without getting it cleared first.” 

“Magic door?” Finn said.

“Magic door,” Odia said. 

They followed him up to the first level and Odia walked them to a door set back under an arch. They opened the door and there was a small room and on the other side of the room was a plain looking door. The room itself had some boxes and what looked like janitorial supplies stacked up on shelves.

“Straight forward, you just walk in and out. Door opens up into a sub-basement,” Odia said.

“So we can come through here any time?” Finn said. “Do we need a key or anything.”

“You can and nope, just come on in but remember, just you two for now,” Odia said. 

“We can do that. Thanks for the help!” Finn said. 

“No problem,” Odia said.

Finn and Izzy walked out of the room and into a dim room full of old furniture, statues, and crates. 

“Sheesh, does Glimmer never throw anything out?” Finn said looking around. 

Izzy looked at one of the statues and Finn asked, “Is it some rare artwork?” 

Izzy shook her head and said, “No, it’s mass produced cast concrete. It’s basically a lawn ornament.” 

Finn laughed and said, “I should have known. The good stuff is probably, well, where we just were.” 

Izzy said, “That does make the most sense.” 

“Well let’s go find dinner,” Finn said as they started walking. 

They found Bow in his office. He looked up from what he was working on and smiled as he took off his glasses. Finn noticed that Bow’s dark hair had some grey started to run through it and wondered why they had never noticed it before. 

“There you two are,” Bow said. “I was beginning to think you’d left without saying good-bye.” 

“Sorry, Uncle Bow. We really got into the little nooks and crannies of the place,” Finn said as they sat sprawled out on a couch. Izzy sat beside Finn, sitting upright and a bit uncomfortable. 

“Didn’t find any monsters did you?” he said. 

Finn laughed and said, “Come on, Uncle Bow. No.” 

Bow gave a knowing smile and said, “You think I’m teasing but there’s a tunnel system under Bright Moon and it most definitely has a monster in it. You can’t get into those tunnels though except during very certain times but I’ve always wondered if there were more running around under the place.” 

Finn blinked and said, “Wait, seriously?”

At the same time Izzy said, “You’re not joking?” 

Bow laughed at the look on both of their faces and said, “Yes, I’m serious and no, I’m not joking. There really is a tunnel system under Bright Moon and while I’ve never seen any, I’ve always wondered if there were more tunnels or a few other monsters running around.”

“Uh, Your Majesty… er, I mean, Bow,” Izzy said. “What do we do if we do run into them?”

Bow said, “I always favored running as fast as possible away from them myself. It’s the prudent method.” 

Finn said, “Your old stories say differently.” 

Bow laughed again and said, “No, my old stories have me fighting them because my wife does not believe in my method. Neither does your Mom, Finn. Either of them come to think of it.” 

“What are they?” Izzy asked.

Bow shrugged and said, “A lot of them I remember running into were old First One’s guardians. The one here that I know about is part of the coronation of the Queen of Bright Moon and I assume is ancient. I didn’t stick around to ask. I know when the magic was released that a lot of the animals changed and people called some of them monsters but I never thought of those as monsters. I guess it just kind of depends.” 

Finn shook their head and said, “Well, we didn’t see anything like that where we were but if I do, I’ll be sure and use your technique, Uncle Bow.”

“Let me know how it works out. I almost never got to use it,” Bow said with a grin. 

“Considering what I know about my moms and Aunt Glimmer, I’m not surprised,” Finn said. “So are we still invited for dinner?” 

“Of course! We’d love to have you! Izzy, any food allergies we need to know about? Or just something you don’t like?” Bow said. 

Izzy shook her head and said, “No allergies and whatever you’re having is fine, I’m sure. I don’t want to be a bother.” 

Bow smiled and said, “No way you can be a bother. Seriously. Just let us know if you don’t like something please.” 

Izzy felt nervous. She knew this was Finn’s family but she also knew they were the royalty of Bright Moon and she was terrified that she’d make some faux paus. She wondered if she could get Finn in private to ask them some questions about what she should and shouldn’t do when she heard a voice exclaim, “Finn! Izzy!” and Capella came running and jumped into Izzy’s lap. 

“Capella, dear, I believe you’re supposed to be grounded,” Bow said, trying to look stern and failing. 

“Izzy! You have to come see my room!” Capella said, ignoring her dad.

“Capella, honey,” Bow said.

“Dad, I heard you the first time. I asked Mom if I could come out,” Capella said. 

Finn grinned because they could almost hear the deliberate omission clanging from where it’d been dropped and judging by Bow trying not to smirk, he had as well. 

“Well I’m glad you asked her,” Bow said. 

“Of course!” Capella said with a smile. 

“And what did Mom say, since you didn’t include that,” Bow said. 

Capella tried to look innocent and said, “Well she didn’t exactly say that I could but that I’d have to ask you.”

“What I said was that there was no way she was getting out of grounding but that she could ask you at dinner tonight after I’ve had a chance to talk with you privately,” Glimmer said sternly as she walked into the room. She brightened up when she saw Finn and Izzy. “Hey you two! Staying for dinner?” 

“Looking forward to it Aunt Glimmer,” Finn said with a smile. 

“Well, why don’t you two go freshen up before dinner. It looks like we need to have a talk with someone first,” Glimmer said, giving Capella a look that could only be described as Mom. 

Capella hugged Izzy and said, “But Mom! Izzy needs to see my room!” 

Izzy hugged Capella back and felt the urge to argue on Capella’s behalf but decided at the last second she probably shouldn’t get involved. 

“Hey, Capella, I promise I’ll see your room soon, ok?” Izzy said. Then she leaned down and whispered in Capella’s ear, “Besides, your Mom is scary. I gotta stay on her good side.” 

Capella giggled and whispered back, “No she isn’t!” 

Izzy nodded solemnly, made all the easier because she was intimidated by Glimmer, and said, “Alright, I’ll see you at dinner.” 

Capella huffed and said, “Fine!”

She hugged Izzy again and they both stood up. Finn gave Capella a hug as well and they were saying their good-byes and starting to walk out the door when Finn heard Glimmer snicker and say, “Capella, yeah, you’re staying. Don’t think I don’t see you trying to walk out with them  _ right in front of us. _ ”

Finn turned to see Capella right behind them as she rolled her eyes and said, “Mom, I was just seeing them to the door.” 

Bow said straight faced, “They’ve seen it. Now come on over here please.” 

Finn shut the door as Capella started stomping over to the desk and when it was shut tried their best not to laugh. 

As they walked down the hall Izzy said, “I can’t help but feel like she was using me there. I thought she was starting to like me.” 

Finn said, “Oh, she 100% likes you but that doesn’t mean she’s not above using you as well.” 

Izzy sighed and said, “Well if she could not do it with the freaking QUEEN it would have been nice.”

Finn laughed and said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. It’s just... did I ever tell you about the first time I met Glimmer?” 

Izzy looked at them and said, “In Seaworthy right? When your moms found you?” 

Finn nodded and said, “Yeah, she sat down in a gutter right in front of me wearing a hoodie. I’ve seen her at our house sitting backwards on a chair laughing at some story so hard she fell out of the chair and I get that she’s the Queen but she’s also just my Aunt Glimmer, you know? I’m not trying to dismiss your feelings, it’s just kind of funny to me.” 

“Well she’s Queen Glimmer to me,” Izzy said. “And I’m really nervous about dinner tonight.”

Finn opened a tall door and said, “Well come on in here and we can talk it out.” 

“Are we allowed in here?” Izzy said, whispering as she stepped in.

Finn winked at her and whispered back, “I certainly hope so, it’s the room Mom lived in when she first came to Bright Moon. Then her and Mother lived here after the war and before they built our house. We stay here when we visit.” 

The lights came on as they walked in. Izzy made a quick call to her Grandma to let her know where she was and what was going on before she looked around the room. Flowing curtains, a waterfall, couches, cushions, and various art pieces sat around the room. Near the door was a huge mural painted onto the wall. It depicted a ledge and railing sticking out above a metal landscape covered in vegetation. 

“Did your Mother do that?” Izzy said.

Finn flopped down into one of the large floor pillows and said, “Yeah, she said it was the first time she did a large mural. It’s somewhere in the Fright Zone. She said her and Mom used to hang out there when they were kids.” 

“This doesn’t look much like a place that either of them would live in,” Izzy said looking around some more before sitting down next to Finn. 

“They took a lot of their stuff with them when they moved although I think this is what it looked like when Mom lived her during the war,” Finn said. “So, do we need to talk about dinner?” 

Izzy sat up and pulled her notebook out and said, “Yes. I need to know everything. Tell me all the etiquette and protocol that’s involved.” 

Finn said, “Well first of all you need to remember, and this is very important and I can’t overstate this enough, I love you.”

Izzy rolled her eyes and said, “I love you too but come on, I’m serious! I don’t want to screw this up!” 

“Alright, I’m sorry. There isn’t really anything special you need to do,” Finn said. When they saw Izzy giving them a look they said, “No, seriously! It’s no different then having dinner at my house.”

“Except that this is a castle!” Izzy said. 

“You’re definitely fixating on that I can tell,” Finn said as they ran their hand up and down Izzy’s back to help calm her down. 

“Are you really sure there’s nothing I need to do? I shouldn’t change or something?” Izzy said. 

“Nope. Listen, I’m serious, it’s just dinner,” Finn said. 

“Ok, ok, I can handle this. In fact, I know just how to calm down,” Izzy said as she pulled out the notes from earlier. “Let’s talk about this some.” 

Finn nodded and said, “Deal.” 

They curled up together and went over the notes again. Izzy started making a quick mind map of their ideas of how to guide their research and Finn broke it all down and set it out in an outline. 

As they looked at the outline Finn said, “That’s… that’s not bad.” 

“I am a research machine,” Izzy said proudly. “I could do this in my sleep.” 

Finn laughed and said, “Just don’t write on the wall or anything.” 

Izzy’s eyes got bright and she said, “Ooooo, that’s a good idea! I bet Grandma would let me turn one of my walls into a writing board.”

Finn laughed again and said, “Even if not for this, you could write out your model plans on it.” 

Izzy rubbed her hands together and said, “I’m doing this. I’m so doing this.” 

Finn hugged her and said, “Do you really think we should leave the Bright Moon area until last?”

Izzy said, “It makes sense to me. You’ve lived here for a long time and so do at least four of the people who were involved heavily with the search. Based on our ‘Don’t Wanna Be Found’ theory, living here would be the last place they’d stay.” 

“And if they catch on, maybe they’ll run to Bright Moon. We’ll herd them in!” Finn said, throwing their arm upwards dramatically.

Izzy snorted and said, “Sure. We’ll go with that.” 

Glimmer teleported in at that moment and Izzy jumped up.

“Ready for dinner?” Glimmer said with a smile. 

“Sure, Aunt Glimmer. Any chance we can get the direct route?” Finn said as they stood up as well. 

“Of course! Izzy, do you get motion sick easily?” Glimmer asked. 

“Uh, no?” Izzy said, a little confused.

“Good,” Glimmer said as she took hold of both of their shoulders and teleported them. 

They appeared in a small dining room in the royal apartments and Izzy blinked a few times before looking at Finn with wild eyes. 

“Sorry, I should have warned you,” Finn said. “You alright?” 

Izzy nodded, not trusting herself to speak at the moment. Glimmer looked at her and then to Finn and said, “Yeah, you should have. At least you’re handling it alright, Izzy. Catra absolutely refuses to teleport.” 

“I wonder why?” Finn said. 

“Want me to pop down, grab her, and bring her back so you can ask her?” Glimmer said, a little too eagerly. 

Finn laughed and said, “No, I’d rather not have her mad at me, thank you.” 

Capella came in with Bow at that point and went running up to Izzy and started chattering at her and pulled her over to the table. 

“You’re sitting here, next to me!” Capella said as she hopped into a chair. 

“I think I’ve been replaced as favorite,” Finn said with a smile as they watched Izzy sit down and listen to Capella talk. 

“She really has taken to her,” Glimmer said. “So, you going to tell me why you’re here today?” 

Finn looked at her and thought about telling her why at first but decided that it’d be better to tell their moms first. 

“Just poking around a bit,” Finn said. “Izzy had never been here before and we were camping last night and decided to come up today.” 

Glimmer looked at Finn for a long moment and said, “Well you’re always welcome of course and it really is good to see you.”

Finn said, “I haven’t been disappearing have I? I know some friends have done that when they got into serious relationships.” 

Bow walked up and put an arm around Glimmer and said, “Couldn’t help but overhear but no, you haven’t. You two see everything you came to see?” 

Finn nodded and said, “Yep.”

Bow nodded and said, “I was serious earlier today when I saw you both. You ought to take her out to see my dads. I think she’d really like the library.” 

“Finn! Come talk to us!” Capella yelled from the table. 

Finn grinned and said, “I’ll be right there.” 

At the same time Glimmer looked at her and said, “What have we said about indoor voices?” 

“This is an indoor voice,” Capella said before shifting to a much louder voice. “SEE!? THIS IS MY OUTDOOR VOICE! IT’S MUCH LOUDER!” 

Everyone started laughing and Bow said, “Thank you for that demonstration dear but how about just no talking above regular voice level unless it’s an emergency?” 

They all sat down at the table and Finn sat on one side of Capella with Izzy on the other side as Bow went and brought in dinner and started serving everyone. Finn could see that Izzy was still uncomfortable but she was frequently distracted by Capella talking to her. 

“And then he took me WAY up and did loop-de-loops! He said they were his favorite thing to do!” Capella said with glee. 

“Sounds like quite a horse,” Izzy said. 

“He has a sacred bond with Finn’s Mom you know,” Capella said solemnly. 

Finn took a bite and said, “Mom said she hears from him pretty regular. Is he still out in space with Kadroh?” 

Glimmer said, “Yep. Got to be honest, I kind of miss having him around. It’s fun to have another flying partner.” 

Bow gave her a nudge and said, “I told you I’d get a jetpack up and working if you wanted me to come along.” 

Glimmer nudged him back and said, “I love you dear but you set your legs on fire last time.” 

Capella chirped up and said, “When I get my wings I’ll fly with you Mom!” 

Glimmer said, “I’m looking forward to it.” 

Bow coughed a little with the harrowing memory of just how Glimmer had got her wings and said, “On another subject, Izzy, what have you been up to lately?” 

Izzy froze for a moment and tried to swallow her food as she looked at Bow. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to catch you mid-bite,” Bow said. 

Izzy shook her head and quietly said, “No, it’s ok, really.”

Everyone sat and waited for a moment and Izzy finally gathered up a little courage and said, “I, uh, I just finished up a model of the Kingdom of Snows palace and I’m finally going to get started on a scale model of the old Fright Zone. It’s going to be pretty big I think.” 

Glimmer said, “That sounds pretty cool.” 

Finn grinned and said, “She’s amazing. They’re great models.” 

Izzy blushed a little at the compliment and said, “They’re alright.”

“Well if you ever make Bright Moon castle, I’d love to see it,” Glimmer said with a smile.

Finn was going to say she already had when they realized she was looking a bit uncomfortable and just took a bite instead. Then to Finn’s surprise, Izzy said, “I’ve already made one but it was one of my earlier models so it’s not a favorite.” 

Glimmer said, “Well, let’s talk sometime. I’d love to see your work and give you a commission to make a more detailed one.”

Izzy stopped with a forkful of food part way to her mouth and made a noise that sounded like, “Gruhnhuh?” 

Finn had a huge grin on their face as they saw Izzy floored. Izzy felt like her entire mind was rebooting. She finally sat her fork down and said, “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I didn’t understand you there.” 

“I want to see your work. I also want to commission you if you’re agreeable to it. And, uh, could you not Your Majesty me please?” Glimmer said, trying her best not make it awkward. 

Finn reached over and squeezed Izzy’s shoulder and felt how tense she was and she looked over at Finn. Finn gave her an encouraging nod and Izzy finally stammered out, “Uh, sure, I’d… yeah. I’ll uh, we’ll definitely talk. I think that sounds really interesting.” 

Glimmer smiled and said, “Great!”

Capella chimed in and said, “Can you show me your models too!?” 

Izzy gave her little smile at her and said, “Sure but you have to not be grounded you know.” 

Capella rolled her eyes and said, “Well that means  _ never _ then!” 

Bow snorted and said, “Well honey, you just have to behave.” 

Finn ruffled Capella’s hair and said, “But that’s not fun is it, buddy?” 

Glimmer pointed a fork at Finn and said, “No, bad Finn. Do not encourage her.” 

Finn sat up straight and said, “It is my solemn duty as her Auncle to make sure she is well versed in the finer points of life.” 

“Stop quoting Double Trouble,” Bow said with a laugh. 

Izzy sat in a daze as the dinner went on. The whole day felt unreal at this point. The archives, the plan for finding Finn’s family, and then Glimmer saying she wanted to commission her made her feel out of it. She remembered talking a little bit more but she couldn’t really remember exactly what was said. As the evening came to a close they were all standing in the corridor.

“Promise me you’ll come see me soon?” Capella said as she hugged Finn and Izzy.

“I promise,” Finn said.

“I do as well,” Izzy said. 

“Alright, honey, you got to stay out of your room with them but it is back to grounding now,” Bow said as he took her hand.

Bow said good-bye and then walked with Capella back to her room.

Glimmer leaned against the wall and watched them go with a smile. When they were out of sight she turned and said, “I wasn’t kidding earlier, Izzy. I really am interested. Let me know. It’s not like it’s hard for me to get around.” 

Izzy nodded but couldn’t quite bring herself to say anything. Finn chimed in and said, “Aunt Glimmer, is there any chance that you can give us a lift back to the house?” 

Glimmer grinned and said, “I don’t know. It’s really difficult for me.” 

Izzy looked up and said, “Then I don’t want to be a burden. Really.” 

Glimmer laughed and said, “I’m teasing them. Izzy if you’re alright with it, I’ve got no problem.” 

Izzy nodded and Glimmer took both of their shoulders once again and suddenly they were standing outside of Finn’s house. Izzy staggered just a little. 

“That’s… that’s not any less weird the second time,” she said, blinking. 

Finn hugged Glimmer and said, “Thanks, Aunt Glimmer and thanks for dinner. We may be by again real soon.” 

Glimmer hugged them back and said, “You know you’re always welcome. Izzy? Hug?” 

Izzy looked a bit shocked and finally said, “Um, ok?” 

Glimmer gave her a brief hug and said, “Thank you for coming to dinner. It was great to have you. Finn, tell your moms I said hello and I’m sorry I couldn’t hang around. Good night!” 

Finn said good night and Glimmer teleported out. Izzy hooked her arm through Finn’s and said, “Ok, I guess it’s time I go home for now. Walk me halfway?” 

Finn leaned their forehead into hers and said, “Always.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying this! This one was a bit longer than the last
> 
> The letters weren't originally in when I wrote the first draft but as I got past it I suddenly realized that of course they'd leave something personal behind for Finn. Because as Finn mentions, they probably thought that Finn might not read them until after they were gone. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing, the letter out of the past, and it was probably one of my favorite parts of this chapter. Well that and Capella informing everyone of the difference between one voice and another.


	3. Tho' much is taken, much abides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come to have a discussion it would seem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Finn and Izzy stood there swaying back and forth a little in front of the house, smiling at each other, and were about to walk on when the front door opened and Adora walked out on the front porch. 

“There you are,” she said with a smile. “I was hoping to see you both. Come in and say hi before you go Izzy.” 

Izzy and Finn both walked inside and Finn could immediately tell something was up. Catra was lounging on the couch but there was lounging when she was just relaxed and then there was whatever it was she was doing now. Finn could only describe it as attentive and poised relaxation. They sat down and Adora said, “Did you all have a good camping trip?” 

“Yep, found that stream and pool back there and stayed there last night. It was really nice, not too hot, not too cold,” Finn said. 

Izzy looked at everyone slowly, trying to figure out just why everything felt off. 

“That’s good. We all should get out sometime. It’s been a while since we’ve been camping together,” Adora said. 

“That’d be great,” Finn said, trying to decide just when they should tell what they’d gone and done that day. 

“We can take some of the work tents. We can do the whole thing up stylish,” Adora said, nodding as if she was agreeing with something. 

Finn laughed and said, “Mom, your work tents are roomy. Stylish, that’s stretching it.” 

Izzy noticed Catra rolling her eyes a little as Adora said, “Anything else interesting happen lately?” 

“Oh dear sweet Mara, Adora, just ask them!” Catra said as she sat up. “We got word that you accessed the archive on our search for your biological relatives. Adora was trying to make it not weird about asking you if everything is alright or not.” 

“Catra! I was trying to ease into it!” Adora said. 

“Well do better next time! You were making it weird! Izzy’s been eyeballing us since you sat down trying to figure out what the heck you’re doing,” Catra said. 

Izzy started to say, “No, really, I just… was…” 

Catra held up her hand and said, “Izzy, it’s alright, we get trying to be situationally aware around here. Seriously though, it’s not like we’re mad. Just kind of, I don’t know, off balance.” 

Adora nodded and said, “Yeah, we weren’t quite ready for it. Again, not mad, just surprised.” 

Finn said, “I’m sorry. You had said I could go through it sometime when we were in Seaworthy. Of course, I should have just taken you both with me. It would have kept us from having to jump through hoops.”

Izzy gave a little smile and nudged Finn and said, “Speak for yourself, I found it fun.”

Catra gave a groan and said, “Ledgeren.” 

Finn nodded and Catra said, “She’s excellent at her job, I’m sure, but she kind of freaks me out. It wasn’t hard to get through was it?” 

Izzy said, “I didn’t think so.” 

Finn nodded and said, “Well I did but Izzy was in her element. I couldn't have done it without her.” 

Adora leaned forward from her recliner and said, “Finn, you don’t have to answer but can I ask why you were there?” 

Finn looked down and said, “Well… I kind of had a thought that I’d go out and look for them myself.” 

Silence fell in the room. Izzy gripped Finn’s hand and Finn looked up to see their moms reaction to the announcement. Catra’s face was strangely neutral. Adora’s face was a mixture of happiness and sorrow. Finn said, “Are you mad at me?” 

Catra immediately reacted, “Not one bit. I’m just… did you read the letters we left for you?” 

“I read your and Mom’s letter. I wasn’t quite ready for the rest,” Finn said. 

“Then you know how I feel about them. As far as I’m concerned, they can stay under whatever rock they crawled back under,” Catra said. “But I know you have your reasons. You want to look, I’m there for you.” 

Adora was nodding along and said, “I am too. I know I can easily reschedule any work I’ve got coming up to come along.” 

Izzy felt Finn trembling a little as they said, “Moms, um, I appreciate that but you’re not coming.”

Catra leaned forward and said, “Nope. Nope, nope, nope. No, there is no way that you are going off on your own, Finn.” 

“Well, I won’t be alone, I’ll have Izzy with me,” Finn said. 

“That’s still pretty much on your own except with two of you we’d be worried about!” Catra said. “No! I’ve got no problem coming along but I am not comfortable with your idea of going it alone at all!” 

“Mother, come on, I know you worried about this at Seaworthy and I went along but no, we’re doing this on our own,” Finn said. “I’m old enough to do this.” 

Adora sighed and said, “Finn, it’s not that we think you’re incapable of taking care of yourself normally. It’s just that we remember some of the places we went on our search. They weren’t the nicest places.” 

“Adora, don’t pull punches on this one! They were rotting cesspits, Finn, and the thought of you going into them scares the life out of me,” Catra said. 

It’d been a long day and with the heightened emotions Izzy felt herself on the edge of panic. She knew that the two were being concerned and just worried and there was no ill intent but she could remember her own parents and how they were. Catra and Adora weren’t screaming or throwing stuff around like her parents did but she could still feel the panic rising at the confrontation going on before her. She began to take deep breaths and tried to focus on a single point. Catra noticed it almost immediately. Finn was about to say something and Catra cut them off. 

“Mother…,” Finn started to say with a little irritation at being cut off. 

“No, Finn, stop. Look at Izzy. Izzy, you alright?” Catra said quietly. 

Finn turned and noticed immediately, “Izzy, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” 

Izzy nodded and took another deep breath and then shook her head as she let it out. Adora was on her feet and headed into the kitchen. Finn hugged Izzy close and Catra came off the couch to kneel in front of her. 

Finn quietly said, “Count with me would you? Mother, will you do it as well?” 

Catra nodded. Izzy nodded and together they started slowly counting up to ten. Adora came back into the room with a glass of ice water and knelt down with Catra and started counting with them as well. They repeated it a few times and Izzy looked at them and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I’m really sorry.” 

“Hey, hey, no, you never have to apologize for that with us,” Adora said, holding out the glass of water. “Every single person in this room has struggles like that.”

Izzy took the water and sipped as she leaned her head back on Finn’s shoulder. 

“Do we need to talk about this later?” Finn asked Izzy. 

“No, it’s alright, really,” Izzy said. 

“Izzy, Adora and I will work to keep our tones level. If we get too much just say something. We don’t have to hash this out tonight,” Catra said. 

Izzy nodded her head and everyone settled back down. 

“Mom, Mother,” Finn said. “I love you both and I know you’re worrying about me but I’m laying this card down. Both of you were fighting a war at my age. Both of you did  _ way _ more dangerous stuff than I’m talking about doing. And last, Izzy and I came up with a plan that will actually not work if you’re along.” 

Catra’s ears twitched at the mention of the war, especially since she remembered exactly which side she’d been on and what she’d been doing at Finn’s age, and said, “I’ll get to the other part in a second but you’re telling me that your plan won’t work, at all, if Adora and I come with you?” 

Finn said, “Yes, Mother, it really does. I’m not trying to be difficult but I promise you, the plan really does depend on you not being along.” 

Adora leaned back in her recliner and stared at the ceiling. When she spoke she didn’t look down and said, “What’s the reasoning?” 

Izzy spoke up quietly and said, “You’re too well known.” 

Everyone turned to look at her and she almost didn’t go on but she was always calmer when she was explaining something and she took a breath and let it out all at once. 

“We think that you, and everyone who was with you, is so well known that you may have scared off some of your leads and we have a list of towns that had leads but when you got there it either dried up really fast or just seemed to be a wrong lead which leads to our thinking that maybe some of those were legitimate leads that dried up because of how well known you were and honestly, the reputation that some of you have,” Izzy said. 

Catra snorted a little and said, “Ok, that’s fair. Adora is pretty terrifying. I’m still not on board with this but we did have a few conversations along those lines back then.”

“We’re not just charging into this,” Finn said. “We’re going to be doing a lot of research in the archives. We’re going to plan this out a lot. I’m going to ask your advice but this is ours. We’re doing this. I know you’re both stubborn but you raised me. I can be stubborn as well.” 

Adora stood up and walked to the edge of the living room. She looked out into the back yard through the kitchen and Finn could just see the side of her face. They were surprised to see a tear run down. 

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Finn said and Izzy could hear a bit of a scared child in their voice. 

Adora turned around with a sad smile on her face and said, “Finn, you’re right. You can probably handle it on your own although I think you overestimate how competent we were at your age. I just… I worry.” 

Catra looked at Adora and could tell she wanted to say something but was trying to keep it inside because she was afraid it would hurt someone she loved. Catra knew Adora’s first thought would always be to hold it inside and let it burn her rather than hurt someone else. 

“Adora, say it,” Catra said flatly.

“I’m worried. I said it,” Adora said. 

Finn remembered the letter that she had left for them and said, “Mom, are you worried I’m not happy with you two?” 

Adora started to shake her head and then tears started tracking down her face and she said, “Yes.” 

Finn squeezed Izzy’s hand and stood up and went over to hug their Mom close. 

“Mom, I love you. I love you too, Mother. You two are the only two people I will ever call my parents. Ever. No one else ever gets that. You gave me a wonderful home and a wonderful life. You are my moms. Even if I find who I’m looking for, nothing is going to change that,” Finn said.

Adora hugged them close and Finn gestured for Catra to come over. As Catra stood up she said, “Come on, Izzy. You’re family as far as I’m concerned. Get in on this.” 

After they’d hugged Adora kissed the top of Finn’s head and asked, “Can I ask why then?”

“Izzy asked the same thing. It’s just a desire to know why really. Maybe ask some hard questions if I can. Get what I can while it’s still maybe possible,” Finn said. 

Adora nodded and said, “I get that. I’m still kind of chewed up about this but I guess that’s a me problem and I’ll work on it. And if you’re able to ask...”

“You deserve a straight answer,” Catra said. “I guess you’re just going after the answer yourself this time. Our little kiddo is grown up now it would seem.” 

Finn smiled and said, “I’m still your kiddo, Mother. Always will be.” 

“Don’t forget it,” Catra said, putting them in a headlock and rubbing between their ears before letting them go. “Alright, let’s go sit down at the table. It’s late night planning time which as far as I’m concerned means snack time. Izzy, you get first pick from the kitchen.” 

Izzy liked snack time at their house. Everyone picked a few things from the kitchen and then sat down at the table and shared. They settled in around the table and Izzy and Finn began to lay out their outline and talked about what they’d read and what they were thinking. Izzy felt herself relax as she fell into her element of explaining and was soon pulling out notes as well. Adora and Catra for the most part just listened. As they finished up Catra speared an olive with a claw and ate it before saying, “Alright, so you’re definitely not going off half-baked. Izzy, I think I have you to thank for that so thank you.”

“Hey, are you implying I go off half-baked?” Finn asked. 

“Finn, you blew up our fire pit once,” Adora said. 

“You make it sound like I leveled the place. It didn’t even damage anything. Everyone running away is what knocked everything over,” Finn said.

Catra was shaking her head with a smile and her tail flicked back and forth as she said, “That’s not the defense you think it is but like I was saying, you do definitely have a pretty solid plan for where to look and what to research. One problem though. It’s all strategy, no tactics.” 

Finn leaned forward and said, “What do you mean?” 

“Well you’ve got this high level idea but for instance, how are you going to get to where you’re going?” Catra said. “Where are you going to stay? What are you going to eat?” 

Finn said, “Well, we’ll do what I remember you saying you did. We’ll rely on friends. If we’re near the Fright Zone, I know I can call on Artho and Oak. I’m sure Cowrie wouldn’t mind giving us a lift anywhere with water. And Mom, you’ve said yourself that you, Glimmer, and Bow used to sleep on the ground a lot. Why can’t we?” 

Adora was nodding and Izzy chimed in and said, “I will say I believe those are contingencies that we can address as we come to them. Right now, we’re barely into the research part of the outline. Going into the field portion of the outline and the details in it would really just bog us down where we don’t need to be.” 

Catra grinned and said, “Izzy, I like how you stand up a bit more now.”

Izzy blushed and looked down and said quietly, “It’s research. I can do research.”

“You can do a lot of things,” Catra said. “Alright, not that you were looking for it but I’ve got my seal of approval on this.”

Adora sighed and said, “And I guess mine as well.” 

Catra gave Adora a look and said, “Adora, could you take Finn up to the attic real quick? I know field details are a bit early but while I’m thinking about it, see if that old cold weather gear we’ve got stored is still in good shape.”

Adora returned the look and nodded and said, “Sure. Come on, Finn. Let’s head on up there.” 

After they left the kitchen, Catra sat there with her ears twitching until she heard the attic ladder come down and the two go up it. Izzy was quietly reading through her notes when Catra spoke.

“What are you going to do when it gets violent?” she said. 

Izzy looked at her and said, “What?”

“What are you going to do when you get out there on this search and it gets violent?” Catra said again. 

“Was that a problem last time?” Izzy said.

“No. In the whole time we searched, we didn’t really get into anything serious. It’s like you said, most people recognized us. Are  _ you _ going to get into a fight with She-Ra?” Catra said. “But the strength of your plan is that you two  _ aren’t _ recognizable. Don’t get me wrong, I’d scorch earth anyone who did something to either one of you but that’s after the fact. So what are you going to do?”

Izzy shifted a little uncomfortably and said, “Why didn’t you ask when Finn was here?” 

“Because I know their answer. They’re a pacifist, have been since they were little. They’d say that it’s best to talk it out or just leave. I respect that and I’m proud of them for that but you… well, I’m not so sure where you stand and I need to know,” Catra said. 

“I think we just do our best to stay out of bad situations,” Izzy said. 

“Nope, you’re not getting out of it that easy. Let’s say someone grabs you,” Catra said and then paused for a second after thinking about Izzy for a moment. “No, not that. Someone grabs  _ Finn _ . What do you do?”

Izzy felt her face go still as she thought about Finn getting hurt and her voice went flat as she said, “Stop them.” 

Catra blinked a moment and then said in a serious tone, “Izzy, you’ve got some serious anger tamped down inside of you.”

She heard Adora and Finn start to come back down the ladder and said, “You and I, we’re going to talk about this some more later because I’ve got a few things I need to teach you. Alright?” 

Izzy took a deep breath and nodded. Catra turned as the other two came back in and said with a smile, “I take it you found it pretty quick. Still in good shape?”

Adora nodded and said, “Musty but yeah, we stored them well. Should fit them too.”

Adora gave Catra a questioning look and Catra gave a calm look back. Adora opened her eyes up a little bit and sat back down. Finn, who was no stranger to their moms little looks and silent eye conferences, knew something had happened but didn’t say anything. Izzy seemed to be alright and so they let it go. 

“It’s the middle of the night, so I say we call it good,” Catra said with a long stretch and a yawn. 

Adora nodded in agreement and said, “Izzy, you’re welcome to stay over if you think you’re Grandma won’t worry.” 

Izzy shook her head and said, “No, it’ll be ok. I told her it’d be late. She doesn’t worry about me as much these days.” 

“Well, you’ve got a good head on you,” Catra said. 

Finn made a huffing noise and said, “Hey, Applesauce, are you trying to imply that I don’t?” 

“Fire pit. Explosion,” Catra said with a smile. 

“You’re really going to start bringing that up a lot aren’t you?” Finn said with a grin. 

“You don’t let Applesauce die, I don’t let explosions die,” Catra said. 

Adora rolled her eyes and said, “Izzy, if traveling with Finn is anything like traveling with Catra, I feel for you.” 

“Gasp! Betrayal! How could you!? My own wife!” Catra said as she pointed at Adora.

Adora rolled her eyes again and said, “I’m going to bed, wife. Stay up making grand declarations at the walls if you want but at least keep it down.” 

The two left the room giving each other little pushes back and forth and laughing. Finn smiled and leaned into Izzy. Izzy put her arm around them and the two sighed at the same time. 

“It has been one long day,” Finn said. 

Izzy nodded but didn’t say anything. 

“Can I ask you what Mother wanted?” Finn said. 

Izzy said, “How did you know?”

Finn said, “While I can’t really tell what the heck it is they do with the whole look thing, I can tell when Mother is trying to get me out of the room.”

“She asked me what I was planning if things got violent,” Izzy said.

Finn said, “What did you say?” 

Izzy shifted a little and said, “I, uh, I first said that we’d just leave but she wouldn’t take that answer. Then she asked what I would do if someone hurt you.”

Izzy sat and tried not to look at Finn. She was remembering when her estranged father had tried to hit Finn and she’d stepped in the way of the punch and then laid him out on the ground. She never thought of herself as a violent person, she’d had enough inflicted on her that she didn’t have any romantic ideas about it, but when she thought of Finn getting hurt by someone… well she didn’t like that one bit. 

After waiting to see what else she would say, Finn nudged her and said, “Well, what did you say?” 

Izzy looked Finn straight in the eye and said, “I said I’d stop them.”

Finn could see an intensity in her eyes that they hadn’t seen before. They’d seen her intense when she talked about something that interested her or intense when she was working on a problem but this was something Finn couldn’t place. 

“Uh, I’d rather we just try to talk it out or leave,” Finn said. 

“I know and I’m completely in agreement with you on that. It’s the smart move,” Izzy said. “But I think Catra was trying to get through to me that sometimes that might not be possible. And Finn, I don’t expect you to fight but me? No one’s hurting you if I have a thing to say about it.  _ Ever _ .”

Finn was shaking their head and said, “Izzy, no I can’t ask you to do that for me.” 

Izzy gave a little smile and said, “Then isn’t it good you don’t have to?” 

Finn leaned their forehead against hers with a sigh and said, “I don’t want you to get hurt. For any reason but especially because of me.” 

Izzy put her hand on the side of Finn’s face and said, “And I don’t want you to get hurt and it’s my decision for myself to make. You’re not changing my mind on this.” 

Finn sighed and said, “Ok. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Izzy said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say here but I did want to mention that I've broken over 53,000 words in the story and it is now officially the longest thing I have ever written. I'm posting the new chapter partly as a way to celebrate this milestone. I hope you enjoy it because there's plenty more to come! Thank you for reading!


	4. Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil this labour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's time to study and plan but eventually it becomes time to put plans into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The weeks that followed were long. Finn and Izzy were in the archives almost every day, all day. They worked on researching the small leads that hadn’t panned out and crossed a few off as just too outlandish to follow up on. Finn had a good laugh at one that turned out to be someone saying that Finn was a secret resurrection of Horde Prime who’d been left on the streets after the secret cabal raising them had become frightened of their terrifying potential. 

Sometimes in the evenings before she’d go home, Izzy would spend some time with Catra doing what Catra called, “Learning a few tricks.” 

Finn didn’t ask. They didn’t want to know. 

Late one afternoon, Finn was sprawled out on a large pillow they’d brought in for breaks. Izzy had her head down on the table. 

“Izzy?” Finn said lethargically, staring at the ceiling.

“Yes?” Izzy said, her voice muffled by the table.

“We’re living the life aren’t we?” Finn said. It was something they’d started jokingly saying to each other pretty quickly when they got tired or frustrated. 

Izzy stuck her hand in the air with her thumb up and said, “Nothing but the best for us.”

“My moms are having their party tonight. I know we said we weren’t going to go but…,” Finn said. 

Izzy looked up wearily from the table and said, “Yes. We’re going. I never thought I’d say this but I need a break from studying.” 

Finn got up and said, “Ok, grab your stuff. Let’s go before the paperwork drags us back.” 

The two quickly packed and left the castle to make their way towards the party. It was early evening and twilight was in full progress as they made their way in the front door. 

“Finn!” Sea Hawk shouted as Finn walked in the room. “And the magnificent Izzy as well!”

Izzy shrunk back a little. She’d met him once and only quick enough for an introduction so she was not used to someone who was so Sea Hawk.

Adora sat in her recliner with Catra sitting in her lap and said, “You made it! You’d said you’d be busy.” 

Finn smiled and said, “Well, we decided that we needed a break. It’s been harrowing.”

Bow turned around from where he sat on the couch and said, “Any leads?” 

Finn shook their head and said, “Nothing I’m ready to talk about. Really, we’re just trying to get through it all. The amount of things you all stuffed in there is a bit daunting.”

Mermista raised a glass at them from where she was sprawled out across a loveseat and said, “And you’re welcome for that.”

“Oh, I’m not complaining… much,” Finn said as they gave a grin at Mermista.

“Well, I’d hope not. I still have nightmares about all that writing,” Mermista said. 

“Mermista, don’t say that. It was a joy to do that work so that we might help Finn in their journey now,” Perfuma said. 

“Well I’ll leave you all to argue among yourselves. I see Artho and Oak in the backyard and we’re going to go say hello,” Finn said as they started walking through the house towards the backdoor. 

As they walked out Izzy relaxed a little and said, “I have to keep telling myself they mean well but they’re a bit much to take in sometimes.” 

Finn was waving at Oak and Artho as they said, “Don’t I know it. Now let's sit and relax with these two.”

Izzy gave Finn a nudge with her shoulder and said, “As if that’s any different.” 

Finn looked over to see her with a little smile on her face and laughed. 

They grabbed chairs and went to the back of the yard where Artho and Oak sat. Finn felt comfort in the familiar routine of Perfuma and Scorpia’s younger kids running around the backyard with their friends. Finn could see Capella running as well. They waved at her and she waved back and shouted, “I’m it!” 

As she said that, she jumped into some bushes, her dress getting caught in the tangle as she strained to tag one of the other kids. 

“Well look who decided to grace us with their presence. It’s only fashionably late if you’re not always late to stuff, Finn,” Artho said. “And I’m sorry this reprobate made you late to see us, Izzy but I’m glad you made it.”

“Good to see you too,” Izzy said. 

“How come she gets the polite greeting and I get grief?” Finn said. 

“Because I like her and you I just tolerate,” Artho said with a laugh.

Oak, Artho’s sister, said, “Careful, Finn, she’s been in a mood lately. Mom says that it’s best just to ignore it and Mom says that we should try to help her align her inner soul.”

Artho snorted and said, “How could two woman who’ve known me my whole life, one of whom gave birth to me, not know that this is my inner soul? It’s a thing of grace and beauty.”

“And snark?” Izzy said a little mischievously. 

Artho looked at her with a big grin and said, “Izzy! I’m so proud of you! Thank you. You get me and I love you for that.” 

Finn laughed and said, “That’s because she’s smart and clever and you recognize the things you lack.” 

Artho looked at Finn with a mock wounded face and said, “How could you? My oldest friend!” 

Finn waved their hand in the air as they said, “Yeah, yeah, get it all out of your system.” 

Oak chimed in and said, “Not to break up this absolutely riveting moment but I heard that you and Izzy have been up at the archives doing research and that you’re going to go out looking for your biological family and I only have to say,  _ why haven’t you asked us to go along with you!? _ ”

“You want to go and do research with us?” Finn said, a little confused.

“No! Finn! I’m all about the adventure! I want to go along with you when you go looking! I guess she can come along too,” Oak said as she hooked a thumb at her sister who stuck her tongue out at Oak. 

Finn leaned forward and said, “Well, I think we are actually getting close to making our first trip. What do you think, Izzy?”

Izzy nodded and said, “I do. I know we’ve been kind of dancing around it a little but yes, I think we’re ready.”

Finn said, “But I figured it’d just be Izzy and I. We’re trying to keep it low-key. We think that the crew in there were probably too high profile the first time around and we’re going to chase down what they thought were dead ends. Honestly, it’s probably going to be boring.” 

“Are you kidding me right now, Finn?” Oak said in shock. “Did you really just say that? Are you  _ trying _ to tempt the fates? You gotta bring us along now. You’re going to need the help.” 

Finn laughed and said, “Really, I don’t want this to be a whole thing.”

“Nope, I am not missing out a chance to go traipsing around Etheria on the trail of an old mystery. I know it’s really serious for you but, Finn, come on, adventure across Etheria! Don’t make me go Sea Hawk in my excitement here,” Oak said. 

Artho leaned back in her chair with a smug look and said, “Izzy, I’ll appeal to you in this matter since you’re the one with the brain cells in your duo. You’re going to need to get around and we, well we have access to a skiff. Or were you going to walk everywhere?” 

Izzy looked at Finn and said, “She does bring up a good point.” 

Finn grinned and said, “Well, I was thinking Cowrie could give us a lift to places but you’re right, a skiff would be handy. And it would be good to have friends along. Alright, let’s do this.”

Oak stood up and slapped her hand over her heart and said, “I swear my loyalty on this adventure! I swear that I shall be steadfast and true! No matter what comes our way I shall be there for each and every one of us! I swear this on my name and sacred honor!” 

Artho rolled her eyes and said, “Ok, yeah, ditto. What she said.” 

Finn felt a shiver run down their spine and said, “I guess we’re really going to do this.”

“We are,” Izzy said as she took Finn’s hand. Then her face got a bit of a horrified look on it and said, “Oh Mara, we’re really going do this.” 

Finn looked at her in concern and she waved her hand a little and said, “No, no. Stop it. I knew this was what we were working towards. It’s just real now. Realer. More real. Realest.” 

Finn ran their thumb over Izzy’s hand and said, “Izzy, you’re doing that thing with words again.”

Izzy puffed a little air out in exasperation and said, “I know. Ok, I know the solution to this.”

She reached down and pulled her satchel up into her lap.

“Planning?” Finn said.

“Planning,” Izzy said as a gleam came into her eyes.

“Planning?” Artho and Oak said at the same time with a little hesitation. 

“Really? We’ve gone digging through the Bright Moon archives for weeks now, Izzy had to solve a riddle to even get in the place, and you’re getting leery about a little planning?” Finn said. 

Oak turned to Izzy with a look of wonder and said, “Did you really have to solve a riddle?” 

Izzy said, “Finn’s exaggerating. It wasn’t too bad.” 

“That is so  _ cool!”  _ Oak said. “Was it some ancient First One’s computer? Or a magical statue? Some sentient beast?”

Finn laughed and said, “It was the head archivist. She might have been all of those things but I doubt it. She did like her coffee though.” 

“Alright already, let’s plan this out,” Artho said. “Where’s the first place you’re planning on going?” 

Finn and Izzy looked at each other. 

“We, uh, hadn’t got that far,” Finn said. 

“That’s not strictly true,” Izzy said. “We do have the list. Although that is everything we’ve done. Ok, you’re right, we hadn’t got that far.” 

“Sounds like you need to let fate decide,” Oak said. “We write down all the places on pieces of paper. Then we throw a stone up in the air and whichever one it lands on, we go there.”

“Or we could not do that at all,” Artho said. “Let’s just do the first one you researched.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “I like it. First in, first out. Simple logic. If we don’t find anything, we just go to the next one we looked up.” 

Finn nodded and said, “What was the first one? Something about bees wasn’t it?” 

Izzy nodded and looked at her notes.

“Yes, the town of Moraine in the Kingdom of Snows. Main industry is honey and wax from the glacier bee which is native to the area around the town,” Izzy said. “The original group went because of a rumor that a beekeeper’s worker fit the description of someone Finn knew as a child. It didn’t pan out.”

Finn gave a thumbs up and said, “Then we go to Moraine!” 

Artho and Oak gave a look and Artho said, “Ummm, you know it’s late autumn right? And you want to go to the Kingdom of Snows?” 

Izzy nodded and said, “That’s what planning is for.” 

Finn adopted an innocent look and said, “I believe you said you would be steadfast and true?” 

Artho pointed her stinger on her tail at her sister and said, “That was her. I didn’t say which part I dittoed.” 

Oak batted the stinger away from her and said, “No, you’re right. It’s just a little cold. We can do this.” 

They sketched out a simple plan. It came down to: go to the town, see if they can find the beekeeper, talk with him if they can, and then come back. They went back and forth a bit on a few details but overall they had a good idea of what they were going to do.

As they wrapped up, Finn said, “We’ll pack camping stuff and other gear like that just in case but we’ll plan to find a place to stay. Gotta be an inn or hostel in the town.” 

“Now we just gotta go tell Mom and Mom,” Artho said. 

“Oh, right,” Finn said. “I know my moms are good with it. Well, ok, they’re accepting of it. Izzy, we’ll need to talk to your Grandma as well.” 

Izzy shook her head and said, “No need. I sat down with her the day after we told your moms and laid the whole thing out for her. She’s good with it.”

Izzy left out the part where her Grandma had stood up from the table and come around to pull her into a hug. 

“You be careful out there,” she’d said. “I haven’t always been there for you and I don’t have any powers or magic like Finn’s family but if you ever need me, you let me know. I’ll come running. I won’t let you down again.” 

Izzy gave a small smile at the memory as Artho said, “Well let's not all sit around here, let’s go in and see how they react.”

As they stood to go in, Oak said, “Do we need a name for our team? I feel like we need a name.” 

“No,” Finn said as they started walking. “We’re fine.” 

“No, we need one. The Searchers! No. The Inquisitors! No, I heard it as it was coming out. Uh… the Best Friends… wait, no that one’s taken,” Oak said. 

As they walked into the house, everyone in the living room turned to look at them. 

“Everything alright?” Scorpia said sitting up.

“It is,” Finn said. “But we needed to talk to you all.” 

Voices murmured assent and people shuffled around to make room and the four joined the group. 

“Alright, I know you all know what Izzy and I have been doing up in the archives. Well, we were talking with Artho and Oak just now and we realized that we’re ready to make our first trip,” Finn said. 

The room was silent. Izzy shifted uncomfortably. Artho and Oak shared a quick look. 

“Mom and Mom,” Oak said. “We’re going with them.” 

Perfuma looped her arm through Scorpia’s and leaned into her. 

“Are you two sure?” Scorpia said.

Oak and Artho both nodded and Oak said, “We’ve already sworn our solemn oath.” 

Artho said, “Well, she swore, I dittoed but yeah, Mom, we’re sure.” 

Perfuma wiped at her eyes real quick and said, “You’ve both got big hearts like your Mom and if this is where your hearts are leading you then you should follow them. They won’t lead you wrong. Do we have time tonight for you two to have a brief ceremony with your Mom and I or do you have to leave now?” 

Finn realized what they were thinking and jumped in to say, “Aunt Perfuma, we’re not leaving tonight. We’ve still got to get stuff together.”

Finn noticed the room visibly relaxed a little and realized that they thought Finn was announcing they were about to walk out the door. 

Adora spoke up and said, “Ooof! Ok, good, good, I was in shock there.” 

Catra laughed and said, “Finn, you’re an actor. Work on your timing!” 

“Sorry! I’m not used to making huge pronouncements like you all are!” Finn said with a laugh.

Sea Hawk said, “I will be more than happy to give you lessons! First lesson, speak to your Uncle Bow. He gave a rousing speech at the Fall of Prime!” 

Bow laughed and said, “I know I should say it was nothing but I don’t even remember it, I was so scared at the time. Now back to the subject at hand, are you just warning us or do you need us to help?” 

Oak said, “Well, Mom, I was planning on taking that skiff that we’ve been fiddling with and I guess I should ask before I fly it off.” 

Scorpia nodded and said, “That’s fine but let's go over it with one of the Hordie crews at the Fright Zone to give it a check. I don’t want it failing on you.”

“And Mom,” Finn said, “I want to borrow some of your camping gear.”

Catra spoke up and said, “Where are you going that you need camping gear?” 

“We’re not,” Finn said. “It’s back up just in case.”

Catra nodded and said, “Good idea, kiddo, and you also conveniently skipped over where you were going.” 

Izzy said, “I don’t think they did intentionally. We’re going to Moraine.” 

“Why does that sound familiar?” Glimmer said. 

Catra’s tail bristled out a little as she said, “Because it’s a town in the Kingdom of Snows that daylight has forgotten and is so cold that your breath freezes and clangs to the ground. You probably remember me griping about it years ago.” 

Glimmer snapped her fingers as she remembered and said, “Oh yeah! The one with the bees!” 

Catra shuddered and said, “Yes, that one.” 

“Is it that awful?” Artho said.

Scorpia laughed and said, “Catra has never liked the cold. The town is probably fine.” 

“First time in all of this that I’m glad you said we couldn’t come along,” Catra said. 

“It’s alright, Mother. I’m sure we can go there on a vacation sometime,” Finn said. 

“That’s not a bad idea, Finn,” Adora said as she gave Catra a little nudge. “You’ll want a break after this and it would be just lovely to go there!”

Catra just rolled her eyes. 

Artho said, “Hate to interrupt this because I always love seeing Aunt Catra get teased but do any of you have advice on how to go about this? Do we just barrel in and start asking questions or what?” 

“It’s always worked for me. People see me coming and start talking,” Sea Hawk said. 

“Because they’re saying ‘Oh no! It’s Sea Hawk! Run!’ and then the ones who can’t get out the door have to answer your questions,” Mermista said as she gave Sea Hawk a playful poke. 

“You scoff but did you forget how I so cleverly figured out who that scoundrel was when we were in Ocean-By-Seaside?” Sea Hawk said proudly. 

“Uggghhhh, you’re never going to let go of that are you?” Mermista said. 

“No, my dearest, just like you won’t let go of the fact you figured out the ending of Mer-Mystery: The Sixth Clam in the first twenty pages,” Sea Hawk said with a smile.

Artho said, “Not helping!”

Perfuma spoke up and said, “Dear, we usually had someone to talk to at first. We’d try and strike up a meaningful dialogue with them and show that our interests were often on the same path.” 

Scorpia nodded and said, “That’s right. For those that don’t want to talk, you just gotta be firm but friendly. Most people are good and want to help after all.” 

Catra snorted but didn’t say anything. 

Perfuma smiled and said, “Catra disagrees. It’s an old difference of opinion between us.” 

Glimmer spoke up and said, “It helps to be indirect if you can. Don’t just walk up and say, ‘Hey! You ditch a kid once?’ Ummm, no offense, Finn.” 

Finn started laughing and said, “Are you kidding? I’m absolutely doing that now. That’s hysterical!” 

Bow said, “Finn, please, I’m begging you, don’t.” 

Finn looked at Bow with wide eyed innocence and said, “Are you sure, Uncle Bow?”

“Yes, yes, laugh at the old guy,” Bow said. “Do you know how many years I’ve had to deal with impulsive people?”

Glimmer grinned and said, “You can just say your wife, dear. It’s alright.”

Bow kissed the top of Glimmer’s head and said, “Oh, it’s not just you. I’m not going to start pointing fingers around the room or anything but I’m naming my gray hairs after a few of you.” 

Izzy leaned over to whisper to Finn and said, “Are they always like this?” 

“Yes. We should probably get them back on track before they start giving each other grief about stuff that happened before either of us was born,” Finn whispered back. 

Finn sat back up and said, “Alright, so we be direct when we can but indirect as well.”

Artho said, “Yeah, that was clear.” 

“Alright, I didn’t put it just right but you get the idea,” Finn said. 

Adora spoke up and said, “Finn, I don’t think you’ll really have a hard time talking to people to be honest. You’ve definitely got the gift for it. You need to make plans though for what happens if you need to go elsewhere.”

Oak said, “What do you mean?”

“What happens when you get somewhere and someone says, ‘Oh yeah! I’ve got this information!’ and you realize you gotta go to a whole other kingdom,” Adora said.

Catra said, “She’s right. We did that a couple of times. Stuff can be time sensitive too and you gotta move quick.” 

Mermista said, “And I know you said skiff but that’s not going to get you everywhere.”

Finn said, “Well, we’d planned to involve Cowrie as well.” 

Mermista sighed and said, “I don’t even have to ask her to know she’d be all over that. I’ll find out where her next port is going to be so you can plan it out with her.” 

Izzy leaned forward and said, “We’ll take a data pad along too. That way we can communicate with Cowrie and others and keep you all up to date as well.” 

“I want to go too!” a voice piped up from behind the couch. 

Finn leaned back and picked up Capella and pulled her into their lap. 

“Looks like someone is hiding,” Finn said as they gave her a hug. 

“Yes! Because you don’t let me listen in on the good stuff!” she said. “I want to go and help out!” 

“Capella, what do you think the answer is?” Bow said. 

“Well that’s why I didn’t ask you, Dad,” Capella said. 

Glimmer snorted and said, “Well you didn’t ask at all really. But still, humor me. What do you think the answer is?” 

Capella rolled her eyes and said, “Probably no.”

Glimmer laughed and said, “There isn’t a probably to it. It’s no.”

Capella crossed her arms and little sparkles shot off her head in anger as she said, “You never let me do anything fun!” 

Finn leaned down and said, “Well, we gotta go with what your mom and dad say but if it’s alright with them, you can help us get packed when we’re ready to go. Would that be alright?” 

Bow nodded and said, “That’d be fine.” 

Capella sighed and said, “You still never let me do anything fun.”

Bow gave her a look and said, “We can just leave you at the castle and you can’t help at all.” 

Capella sat back on Finn and gave a little huff. 

“How about we get you set up with a big map in your room,” Finn said. “Then when we call in where we are, you can put tacks in it. You can help track where we’re going.” 

Capella thought about it for a moment and said, “No, that sounds boring. Catra can do that. She’d like that.” 

Catra gave a confused laugh and said, “Why do you think I’d find that interesting?” 

“You just would,” Capella said, giving a knowing nod. 

“There is one question I have. When exactly are you leaving?” Adora said. 

Artho, Oak, Finn, and Izzy looked at each other and gave a little shrug. Finn turned to Adora and said, “We hadn’t set a firm date but I’m thinking a week from today. Assuming the team is ready?” 

Oak got wide eyed and said, “The Team.”

Artho said, “No, stop that. I don’t see why not. I think the skiff will be the one thing but I don’t think it’ll be an issue with Mom and I pitching in with giving it the once over.”

Izzy had a notebook out and was taking a few notes and said without looking up, “Can we assume that we can use any gear you all have?” 

There was a general murmuring of agreement and Izzy nodded as she wrote something down and said, “Well, then I think we can make that date.” 

“Then it’s set,” Finn said. “We leave in a week.” 

The room fell still. Finn felt a little uncomfortable because they could see the look of worry and pride that was on their moms face. When they looked around the room, they saw similar looks on the adults. 

“The Team,” Finn heard Oak say quietly to herself again. 

Sea Hawk stood up and said, “Yes, my brave Oak. The Team. May the winds favor you and may you be all brave and true and find what it is you seek.” 

Mermista stood up and said, “I hope you have success. At least drop in and say hey if you’re by Salineas.” 

Bow and Glimmer both stood up and put their arms around each other as Bow said, “Don’t be afraid to ask us for anything and I mean anything. We’re there for you.” 

Glimmer nodded and said, “We are. No matter what.” 

Scorpia and Perfuma stood up and Scorpia said, “Artho, Oak, you make me proud. You’re everything I hoped you’d grow up to be.” 

Perfuma smiled and said, “All of you make me proud. The energy you four have together will carry you through anything.” 

Catra sighed and uncurled herself from Adora’s lap and stood up. She said, “It’s pronouncement time from me it would seem. Keep an eye out for each other, watch your backs, and Izzy, remember what we’ve talked about.”

Adora stood up then and there were tears in her eyes as she took a few steps and knelt down in front of Finn and placed her hand on the side of their face and just looked at them for a moment. Finn put their hand on hers and leaned into it. 

“Mom, you and Mother have given me the best I could ever hope for. You’re still my mom and you always will be no matter what we find,” Finn said. “I promise.”

Adora nodded once but didn’t say anything. Finn sat Capella down on the couch and stood up and hugged Adora as Adora hugged them back, holding on tight before letting go and stepping back. 

“Be safe,” Adora whispered to Finn. 

Finn nodded. Soon after the group broke apart as everyone went on their way home, Perfuma and Scorpia rounded up their younger children and their friends and left as Artho and Oak promised to be back soon with the skiff so they could get started loading up. Glimmer took Mermista and Sea Hawk back to their place after they said their good-byes and then left with Bow and Capella shortly afterwards. Finn watched them all go, knowing that it was becoming more and more real with every passing moment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say on this one really. I'm happy with how this whole thing is going and I'm hoping you're enjoy it as well!


	5. Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's almost time to leave and The Team gathers as emotions are mixed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Izzy stood out on the front porch with Finn as they watched the night sky and said, “I’m going to head home now and start packing. You come and get me tomorrow morning.” 

Finn nodded and said, “Alright. Let me go tell my moms that I’m walking you home.” 

Izzy turned and said, “No. I’ll walk home alone tonight. I think you need to be with them, just the three of you, for as much as you can before we leave.” 

Finn sighed and said, “You’re right. I think Mother is handling this ok but Mom, well, I guess the only thing I can do is show her that I’m serious that I’m not trying to replace her.” 

Izzy kissed them and said, “See you in the morning.” 

Finn walked inside to find Adora and Catra sitting at the kitchen table. Catra had her arm around Adora as Finn walked over. 

“Mom, you alright?” Finn asked as they sat down on the other side of Adora. 

Adora smiled at Finn and said, “No, but it’s alright.” 

Finn hooked their arm into Adora’s arm and leaned their head against her shoulder. 

“Did you already walk Izzy home?” Catra said, looking around. 

“She told me she’d walk home by herself tonight and she thought I should spend as much time as I could with you two,” Finn said. 

Adora started to carefully shake Finn off of her and said, “No, that’s not right. Go on Finn, go catch up to her.” 

Finn sat up and said, “Mom, no. It’s alright.” 

Catra said, “Adora, hey, obviously Izzy said it was alright.”

“Mom, are you mad at me?” Finn said. 

Adora looked a bit shocked. She sat back in her chair and said, “No. Well…, no, I’m not mad.”

Catra saw Adora trying to frame what she was going to say and jumped in herself to give her time. 

“Finn, I gotta be honest. I’m a bit upset at this whole thing myself,” Catra said.

“I thought you were alright with it?” Finn said, a bit confused.

“I am, mostly, but it’s just bringing up some old feelings and they suck,” Catra said. “It doesn’t mean that I don’t want you to go through with this though.” 

“Mother, I promise the same thing to you that I did to Mom. I’m not trying to replace you and I’m not unhappy with either of you either,” Finn said. 

Adora said, “I’m with Catra on this. Bad old memories mixed with anxiety about you going out mixed with other anxiety about losing you and it just kind of tangles together.”

Finn looked Adora in the eyes and said, “Mom, I won’t go if you don’t want me to, you just have to say so. I’ll tell everyone that I changed my mind.” 

Adora gave a sad smile and said, “No, I’m not going to ask you to give up on this. I’m not going to be that kind of person.” 

“You couldn’t be anything but the best, Mom,” Finn said. “I’m serious. You two are the best.” 

Catra reached around Adora and gave Finn a playful little push and said, “I love you, kiddo. Now tell me again about how great I am.” 

Adora looked down and shook her head with a rueful laugh, “You’re the worst.” 

“Yeah, but  _ you  _ love me. How embarrassing that must be for you,” Catra said as she hugged Adora. 

Adora smiled and said, “Finn, just let us know you’re doing alright while you’re out there.”

“I will,” Finn said. 

Adora hugged Finn close and when she let go said, “I love you. I’m headed for bed now.” 

Finn said, “I love you both too. I’m going to go to Izzy’s house in the morning to get her. I think she’s going to be here until we leave.” 

They had one last hug before they all went to bed. Finn walked into their room and shut the door and then leaned back against it and looked around. They went over to their bed and picked up their stuffed blue whale, Mx. Whale. Finn hugged the whale for a few minutes and thought. It was all suddenly becoming very real for them. 

“I should do this shouldn’t I?” Finn asked the stuffed animal.

Finn waited as if listening and then nodded. 

“Alright. I will. I’m… I’m going to leave you behind though, Mx. Whale. You watched over me since I was little and I need you to watch over my moms while I’m gone. Will you do that for me, please?” Finn said. 

They listened again and then hugged the whale and said, “Thank you.”

The following week seemed to fly past. Finn went over to Izzy’s the next morning. When they walked in, Izzy had several large duffle bags stacked by the front door and Finn felt vaguely guilty as they realized that this would be Izzy’s last time for a long while that she’d be at the only stable home she’d ever had and it was because of them. 

Izzy and Finn had breakfast with Izzy’s Grandma, a short powerfully built woman who didn’t look quite old enough to be anyone’s Grandma, and the conversation was friendly. Afterwards, as they stood at the front door, Grandma gave Finn a hug and said, “Finn, I expect you to take care of her just like I expect Izzy to take care of you.”

“I will. If you need anything, call my moms. I know they’d be happy to help,” Finn said.

“I’ll manage on my own. I’m not decrepit. Besides, my friend June comes by and we watch out for each other,” she said. “But thank you for the offer.” 

Izzy gave Grandma one last big hug and said, “I’ll try and come by before we leave for Moraine. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

“It wasn’t enough and it should have been so much more but it’s too late for anything but regrets for that. I love you, Izzy. Take care,” Grandma said. 

“I love you too, Grandma,” Izzy said as she and Finn picked up her bags. 

They went on down the road, Izzy and Finn turning around every once in a while to wave until they were out of sight. They walked quietly for a little while before Izzy spoke up.

“Did you spend time with your moms last night?” she asked.

“A little. They’re both a bit torn up by this but we talked about it. I offered to stop if they wanted,” Finn said. “I… I, uh, I can make you the same offer.” 

Izzy walked a few more steps before she said, “No. Grandma and I talked again last night about this and other stuff. She’s right, she should have done more back then but she was scared and I know what it’s like to be scared and I can’t blame her. I’m going to miss her, Finn.” 

They walked a little ways and Finn thought about how much of a change this was for Izzy. She’d told them before how much she had harbored resentment towards her Grandma for not doing something about her abusive parents sooner and Finn thought Izzy looked a bit more at peace over it now. 

“Sheesh, we’re talking about this like we’re never coming back,” Finn said. 

Izzy laughed a little and said, “We are, aren’t we? It is the biggest thing we’ve ever done though. It seemed so easy back when we were talking about it over that campfire. Now, now it’s so much more real.” 

It continued to get more real for them over the next few days. They all hauled stuff out of the attic and out of Adora’s work storage to go over and figure out what they needed. Izzy sat and made list after list as the others spread the equipment around the living room and kitchen as they revised what they needed and what they didn’t. 

One afternoon on the day before they were set to leave Finn and Adora made a trip to Adora’s work storage again and Catra and Izzy were sitting on the back porch taking a breather from one last lesson. Izzy wiped sweat from her face and asked Catra, “Should I take a weapon? Like a knife or something?” 

Catra looked at her. She’d been impressed with how quick Izzy had picked up the things she was teaching her. Izzy didn’t have much hesitation even at first and that had disappeared almost immediately. Catra remembered the first time she’d asked Izzy what she would do if someone tried to hurt Finn and seen the look in her eye so she wasn’t surprised that the hesitation had disappeared. Izzy was someone with a lot of anger and Catra had been sure to work into their lessons an emphasis on controlling her temper and keeping calm while telling Izzy exactly why she was telling her these things. 

“No,” Catra replied to her.

Izzy looked confused as she said, “Why not? Could be useful.” 

“It wouldn’t because you’re not thinking it all the way through. You need to be thinking about de-escalation and getting out as fast as possible. Weapons are the exact opposite of de-escalation. They raise the stakes way too much,” Catra said. “You also need years of training to really make them anything other than a danger to yourself.” 

Izzy frowned but then slowly started nodding your head. 

“It makes sense. What did you use to do? Back in the day?” Izzy said.

Catra laughed and said, “Definitely not de-escalation but you can learn from my checkered past. Just be smart and careful and I know you can do both. If it feels wrong, it probably is so just back out of it as quick as you can. A handful of weeks in the backyard isn’t going to turn you into the baddest person on Etheria. It doesn’t even turn you into the baddest person in this backyard. All I’ve really done is given you a few nasty surprises so you can get that chance to back out if you’re surprised.”

Izzy said, “I understand. I’ll be careful, I promise.” 

Catra put an arm around her and said, ”I know you know what promises mean in this house so I’m going to hold you to that. Adora and I love you, Izzy. We want to see you safely back here just as much as we want to see Finn safely back.” 

Izzy gave a little smile as she felt a little lump rise in her throat and said, “I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will. Now come on, enough of the emotional stuff. Let’s go over that last joint lock again,” Catra said as she stood up.

At the storage, Adora handed Finn a small grey box with a silver chain hanging off it. In the center was a green button covered with a clear hinged flap. Finn turned it around to look at it and saw that it was seamless and on the back was a faint sigil in almost translucent purple. 

“Bow and Glimmer made this. He had a name for it but I’ve forgotten it a long time ago. My crew and I just call it the Glimmer Express. I want you to take that with you. If you ever run into something you need to get out of then you hit that button. Glimmer will be there as fast as she can and get you out,” Adora said. “I’ll let her know you have it.”

“Mom, I’m not taking this with me,” Finn said, holding the box back out to Adora. “I said I wanted to do this one on my own. What’s the point of doing it on my own if I’m calling for help all the time?” 

Adora shook her head and said, “I don’t think you’re getting this. I’m not saying this is some kind of, ‘Hey, I need a little help’ thing. It’s not to give us a call to ask a question. This is a, ‘I’m in dire straits and I need to get out NOW or I’ll die’ thing. It’s an emergency beacon and if you push that button, it doesn’t matter when, she’ll show up. To give you an idea of what I mean by emergency, I’ve only used it once and that was after an avalanche wiped out our survey camp and all our supplies and left us stranded. I was lucky I had it in my pocket and I had Bow put the chain on when I got back so I could wear it around my neck. If you keep us up to date on what you’re doing Glimmer will come in with backup too if needed.”

Finn put the box down on the table next to them and looked at it.

“I could be gone for a while though,” Finn said. “Like weeks, maybe months. I don’t want her to have to carry something around with her that whole time.”

“She won’t have to. I don’t know how they did it but Bow made the electronics and Glimmer did something magical to it. It’s linked to her. She’ll get the notice if it’s the dead of night and she’s fast asleep. Finn, I know you want to do this all on your own but please, take this and promise me you’ll use it if you need it,” Adora said. Then she looked Finn straight in the eyes and continued with, “Or do I need to remind you that you’re not doing this alone and there are others going with you as well who you’re responsible for? Like Izzy?” 

Finn flinched a little and said, “Mom, come on. That was low.” 

“I learned from your Mother,” Adora said with a grin. “Now are you taking it? Don’t think I’m rolling over on this.” 

Finn sighed and stuck it in their pocket and said, “Alright, but only if it’s absolutely the worst thing. Worse than I can imagine.” 

Adora nodded and said, “That’s fair and don’t put it in your pocket. Get used to wearing it around your neck. Sleep with it, shower with it, do  _ everything  _ with it. You’ll get so you don’t even notice it’s there and hopefully you’ll never ever need it.”

Finn took it back out, put in on and tucked it inside their shirt.

“Better?” Finn said. 

“Yes,” Adora said as she ruffled between Finn’s ears. “Thanks for humoring me.” 

That evening the four were sitting around the dinner table chatting after dinner when they heard the roar of a skiff coming in and landing on the back lawn. It’d been repainted from its original Horde green to dark orange. Artho and Oak leapt off and started walking towards the door. Catra’s fur ruffled a little as she said, “Did they have to land it there?” 

Adora grinned and said, “It’s not like we have a landing pad.” 

The two came in the door and Oak greeted them with, “Sorry we took so long. Mom made us break that thing down to the frame almost but it’s definitely been inspected now. We’ve got all our stuff with us and ready to go.”

Adora waved at a couple of empty chairs at the table and they settled in. 

“Tomorrow’s the big day. What’s the plan?” Adora asked. 

The four looked at each other and Izzy finally spoke up. 

“I’ve got a schedule for us. We’ll make one last check on our packing tonight, load up the skiff tonight, and go to bed early. I saw Grandma yesterday so we can head out early. We’ll be in Moraine mid-day the day after tomorrow,” Izzy said. 

“You’re not going to try and fly by night are you?” Catra asked. 

Finn shook their head and said, “No. Izzy found a town that’s a bit off the direct route. It’s on the edge of the Kingdom of Snows. We’ll reach there before nightfall tomorrow and stay there.” 

Catra and Adora took each other’s hand and Adora said, “I know I’m being overly worried. You’re all just traveling to a town and back but please try and keep us up to date so we know you’re all alright.” 

“I will, Mom. I’ve never seen She-Ra in person and I don’t want the first time to be when you bust in a door while I’m trying to sleep,” Finn said with a grin. 

“You joke, kiddo, but she’ll do it,” Catra said. “And I’ll be right beside her.”

“And Mom and Mom will probably be coming in the window,” Artho said with a laugh. 

“I can tell you haven’t seen either of them at full throttle,” Catra said. “Bold of you to assume they’d leave the wall standing.” 

“We’ll keep you up-to-date,” Finn said with a snort. “Please don’t level a town because we didn’t make a call.” 

“Well, we’ve planned this to death. It’s time for us to step back and let you four do what it is you’re going to do. If I don’t see you before tomorrow morning, we love you all and good night,” Adora said as she stood up from the table. “Come on, dear. Let’s go for a walk.” 

Finn noticed she didn’t promise not to level a town but decided maybe now wasn’t the best time to bring it up as the two left the house

Oak was practically vibrating in her chair as she said, “I cannot believe we’re really going to do this. Is The Team ready to go and start getting loaded up?” 

“We’re not doing the name,” Artho said. 

“I don’t know, I kind of like it,” Izzy said. 

“Oh no, she’s infected you as well!” Artho said. 

“Me too. I kind of like it. Gives the whole thing a jaunty air,” Finn said as all of them got up from the table.

“Jaunty? We really are doomed,” Artho said as they all walked out into the backyard and started pulling out all the gear from the skiff. Then they pulled everything out of the house that they had got together and spread it out on the lawn beside the skiff with the rest. 

Izzy gave everyone a checklist and they started individually checking everything off. Only when everyone agreed that everything was there did they start packing. Finally, they were done except for small personal packs they’d kept back and they stood around on the grass beside the skiff. 

“We’re really going to do this aren’t we?” Oak said in a quiet voice. 

No one responded as they stood there. Artho carefully patted the side of the skiff as she looked at it and Izzy put her arm around Finn. 

“We do love our drama don’t we?” Finn said with a laugh. “We’re just going to take a trip.” 

Artho grinned back and said, “You’re right. We are. We’ve put way too much work into this.”

Everyone smiled and then Finn realized the reason it felt so dramatic for them. 

“And you all? Thank you for helping me out on this,” Finn said.

They all nodded and met for a quick group hug before they all went inside and settled down for the night. They all crawled into sleeping bags in Finn’s room and stared at the ceiling thinking their own thoughts as each one drifted off to sleep. 

Finn woke up the next morning with Izzy curled up behind them. Artho was sprawled out across the floor and Oak came walking out of the bathroom. 

“Did you not sleep at all?” Finn whispered. 

“I did but I’m so excited I was up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. Aunt Catra is up too. She’s in the kitchen cooking,” Oak whispered back. 

“You can stop whispering, I’m already awake,” Artho muttered from the floor. 

“Me too,” Izzy yawned from behind Finn. 

“Well then stop laying around and let’s get going!” Oak said. 

Each of them got ready, packed the few things they had brought out, grabbed their bags and went out to the kitchen. They all tried to give Catra a hand but she shooed them out and they settled around the table. Adora came slumping into the room and sat down. The chatter around the table was fairly subdued but friendly as they ate. At the end of the meal, they all pitched in to clean up as there was a knock at the door. 

“I’ll get it,” Adora said as she walked over. 

“Moms, it’s not even daylight yet. What are you doing?” Finn said. 

Adora opened the door and Glimmer came in with Bow and Capella. Capella ran over and hugged everyone. Glimmer barely had her eyes open as she slouched over and laid back on the couch with her arms across the back. Grandma came in as well and Izzy gave a smile and went over to give her a hug as Scorpia and Perfuma came in behind them with Artho and Oak’s younger siblings. 

“You didn’t think we’d let you all leave without a sendoff did you?” Adora said. 

“Should I be doing something?” Grandma whispered to Izzy. 

“No, Grandma. Just be yourself,” Izzy whispered back. “I’m glad you made it.” 

“Of course I would. Besides, the Queen herself asked me. She even asked to see your models before we left. I didn’t know she even knew about them but she said you did great work!” Grandma whispered back with a proud smile. 

Izzy blushed and gave a shy grin but didn’t respond as Finn was getting everyone’s attention as they stood between the kitchen and the living room. 

“Can I have a moment please?” 

Everyone stopped chatting and turned to Finn. 

“Thanks. I’m not going to give some big dramatic speech,” Finn said. 

“What’s stopping you this time?” Catra snarked.

“No comments from the gallery please, Applesauce,” Finn said as Catra stuck her tongue out at them. 

“Applesauce?” Grandma whispered in confusion to Izzy.

“Nickname, it’s a long story,” Izzy whispered back. 

“As I was saying, there’s no speech. Thank you for being here to see us off. Team? Let’s get going,” Finn said.

Everyone walked out to the skiff sitting in the yard as the sky lightened in anticipation of daybreak and The Team threw their bags up on the deck and turned around. The good-byes didn’t last long. Some hugs, a few things whispered between one another, and then the four were climbing on board as the rest went back to the patio. Finn turned to look at the group standing on the patio. Adora and Catra had their arms around each other. Catra had her hand on Grandma. Perfuma and Scorpia had their arms linked and were leaning against each other as the children waved. Capella was being held by Bow as she waved as we;; and Glimmer stood beside Bow with her arm around his waist. 

The engine started up and Artho said, “Here we go.” 

They all gave one last wave and then Artho lifted them into the air and they were off. 

The group on the patio watched them clear the trees of the woods behind the property and disappear quickly. Adora wiped at her eyes a little and said, “Well… they’re off.” 

She sighed as Catra gave her a hug and then they all turned and went inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this weeks ago and as I was going back to read it again and clean it up a little, I came across the Mx. Whale scene and I made myself a little sad. I haven't ever really explained it but Mx. Whale has been with Finn since day one of living in Adora and Catra's house. I really need to write that.


	6. I cannot rest from travel I will drink life to the lees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team is off and running but who knows exactly what they're going to find out in the big wide world of Etheria?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The Team settled themselves down as they flew. They went over the Whispering Woods as morning arrived and Izzy and Finn both looked over the side to watch it pass. Artho and Oak traded off flying occasionally when one was tired as they went along and the hours passed quietly. As they got closer to the Kingdom of Snows the air went from the light chill of Bright Moon in late autumn to deep cold. They stopped to get changed into the cold weather gear they brought along and Finn grinned as Izzy took out a large scarf of orange and yellow that matched her shaved close hair and wrapped it around her head and neck leaving her horns sticking out the top. 

“What?” Izzy said in confusion.

“Nothing. I just think you look really cute,” Finn said as they gestured at the scarf as Oak got them back in the air. 

Izzy flicked at the dark red and brown stocking cap Finn was wearing with their ears sticking out the sides of it and said, “Well, I think you look adorable in this.”

Finn gave a little purr and said, “Thanks.” 

Oak and Artho looked at each other and Artho said, “Hey, you two! We’re going to be close together for at least the next week. Could you not be so cute?” 

“It’s hard but I can try but I think it’s impossible for Izzy. She’s just naturally cute,” Finn said with a bigger grin while Izzy blushed. 

Artho gave a laugh, waved a hand, and said, “That! Just less of that!” 

“Nope!” Finn said as they pulled Izzy in close. 

Later, it was getting close to evening when Oak looked up from the map and said, “We should be seeing the town any time now.” 

Artho kept eyeing the horizon and said, “Good, because I’m pretty sure that’s a storm coming this way.” 

Finn, sitting up front with Izzy, turned to look and they all saw the clouds. 

“It’s a long way off though, right?” Finn said.

Izzy stared intently and said, “Yes, but the fact we can see it this far means it’s a big system.”

Finn looked out in front of them and saw the town, Serac, sitting on a cliffside overlooking a large U-shaped valley. 

“Well we’re in luck then cause that looks like the place,” Finn said, pointing. 

They circled over the small town, the brightly colored buildings almost glowing in the late afternoon light, and Artho brought them in for a landing at a small airport that had several skiffs and other aircraft lined up. A woman came out of a low building and Artho hopped down to talk with her.

Artho came back a few minutes later and said, “Alright, we can stow the skiff in a hangar and lock it up. She said that there’s a hostel here a block down we can stay at and that we’re lucky because they’re expecting the first snow of the year tonight.” 

The four went down and got a room and as they walked in, the common room was full of people chatting, playing games, and laughing. Izzy shrunk back from the crowd a little but Oak had a gleam in her eye as they all made their way through to the upstairs room. When they got to the room, Izzy gave out a sigh of relief and stretched out on one of the bunk beds. 

Oak dropped her bag on one of the bunks and said, “I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m going back to the common room.”

Finn sat down on a chair and said, “How about we make dinner real quick and then we can do our own thing before bed?” 

Oak nodded. Artho, who’d ended up doing most of the flying, sprawled out on a bunk and said, “Can I skip out on making dinner? I’ll come down in a bit. I just gotta take a breather.” 

Izzy jumped in and said, “I’m going to as well if that’s alright. There’s too many people down there for me right now.” 

Finn shrugged and said, “I’m fine with that.”

Oak said, “Me too. Maybe we can do it in split duty or something.”

Artho had her arms out in front of her and was stretching her wrists as she said, “Fine with me.” 

Finn and Oak left the room with a small bag of stuff to cook. Izzy pulled out a book and immediately lost herself in it. Artho swung the tip of her tail back and forth and watched it as she listened to the faint sound of the wind outside. After about twenty minutes, she jumped up and said, “Izzy, you ready for some food?” 

Izzy was absorbed in her book and it took her a moment to focus.

“Huh? Oh, yes, thank you,” Izzy said. She still felt a bit odd being alone with Artho and defaulted to a version of her quiet and polite public face. 

She stashed her book and the two left the room, locking it behind them. 

“Whatcha reading that’s got you so engrossed?” Artho said as they made their way to the common room. 

“It’s a book on Horde Clones and the issues they’re having with integration into various societies,” Izzy said. “They spent a long time on The Great Reckoning but even all this time later, many of them are still having issues.”

“Doesn’t sound like my thing but it does sound interesting I guess,” Artho said as they saw Finn and Oak coming out of the kitchen with a pot and four bowls. Artho grabbed a table and waved them over as she and Izzy sat down. 

“It is,” Izzy said. “They were essentially this monolithic entity that didn’t have to make decisions for hundreds and hundreds of years because Prime did it all and now they’re suddenly individuals for the first time. I know a lot of people don’t like them but I think they’re working as hard as they can on accepting the new reality and coming to terms with it.”

Finn sat the pot down and said, “Did I miss an info dump?” 

Izzy gave a little smile and said, “No. Just telling Artho about my book.” 

Artho lifted the lid off the pot and said, “Ah yeah, you made the stew Mom canned for us.”

Oak nodded as Finn started filling up bowls for everyone. 

“Seemed right. A little taste of home on our first night away,” she said. 

As they ate, Finn said, “I looked out the window and it’s already starting to drop a bit of snow. I heard someone say it could be a big storm. Do we want to try and get out in the morning?” 

Oak shrugged and said, “Do we have to decide now? We could just play it by ear. If it’s clear, we go. If it’s not, we settled down for another day. It’s not like we’re on any set time schedule.”

Izzy looked a bit uncomfortable but didn’t say anything. Artho looked at her then spoke up and said, “Well, I’m fine with that. Long as we don’t get stuck here for the winter.” 

Finn laughed and said, “I can think of worse places to be stuck for winter. This is pretty nice so far.” 

They’d also noticed that Izzy didn’t look too happy and they put their hand on Izzy’s hand and said, “What about you?” 

“I… I guess,” Izzy said. 

“You don’t like getting off the schedule do you?” Finn said.

Izzy shook her head and said, “No but I guess I can update it as we go. I should have accounted for the weather.” 

She spooned up more of the stew and Finn gave her hand a squeeze before going back to eating. After they were done, Finn and Izzy went to the kitchen to clean up the dishes and packed them away. The room had other people getting food ready or cleaning up after eating and Finn said hello and chatted a little as they made their way through the room. When they got back out, Izzy felt frazzled at all of the interaction even though she hadn’t said anything. 

“I’m headed back to the room,” she said.

“Ok, I’m going to tell Oak and Artho and I’ll be up there in a moment,” Finn said. 

“I’m just going to read my book,” Izzy said. “Stay down here if you want.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind,” Finn said. 

Izzy started to say something and Finn took her hand and said, “Izzy, it’s ok. Really. I’d rather spend the evening with you.”

Izzy gave a little smile and said, “I was trying to guess how you felt wasn’t I?” 

Finn nodded and said, “At least it wasn’t me doing it this time.” 

As they walked into the common room, Izzy went on up the stairs and Finn saw Artho and Oak chatting with a couple of women. Finn pointed up and then gave a wave and Oak gave a thumbs up. 

“What was that?” one of the women said looking back to see Finn headed up the stairs.

“The other people we’re travelling with,” Oak said. “Just letting us know they’re going upstairs.”

“Kind of early for that,” the other woman said. “Most people hang out until late.” 

Artho gave her best winning smile at her and said, “That’s fine. More room at the table.” 

The women started laughing and said, “Sorry honey, I’m not the least bit interested in romance.” 

The other one said, “And before you look my way I’m already in a committed relationship.” 

Artho laughed and said, “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to be happy to have a good conversation.” 

Oak shook her head and said, “I can’t take you anywhere.” 

“And yet you always do, dear sister,” Artho said. 

“Well, the reason we came over was to ask if you wanted to play a game of Liars Dice with us,” the first woman said with a smile.

“Sounds fun!” Oak said.

Up in the room, Izzy dropped down on the bed as Finn put away their dishes and pulled out a data pad. 

“What should I tell moms?” Finn said as they pulled up the message function. 

Izzy opened her book up and said, “Tell them we made it safely of course. Tell them that it’s snowing and we might be here a little bit before it clears up I’d think and that when I get a chance I’m going to change the schedule to reflect it.” 

“Want to do that now?” Finn said with a grin. 

Izzy rolled her eyes and said, “Tease all you want but it’s important we have it. It keeps us on track.” 

“I know,” Finn said as they sat down next to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “And I appreciate it.”

Izzy scooted around as Finn moved back to lean against the far wall and Izzy put her head on their leg and started reading as Finn typed. They could hear the wind beginning to howl outside and saw flakes impacting the tiny window up on the wall. Inside the small warm room with Finn beside her and a book in her hand, she felt safe and content. 

Finn hit send on the data pad and absentmindedly touched the emergency beacon around their neck as they listened to the wind blow and watched the snow pile up on the windowsill. They could feel the stew sitting warm and comfortable in their belly and thought briefly of hiding in the alley when they were a child, trying to survive. They were sitting behind boxes, watching the world, waiting for someone to throw out some garbage, hoping that there’d be something to eat in it. It was cold and dark and they could feel the gnawing of hunger at their stomach and the clutch of fear in their chest. They felt somebody grabbing their leg and Finn jerked awake. 

“Finn, you were shaking,” Izzy said, sitting up a little, her book set down beside her. 

Finn wiped at their eyes and said, “Sorry. I guess I’m tired out.” 

“We started the day early,” Izzy said. “Grab your sleeping bag and lie down.” 

Finn nodded and got settled with their bag on the bed as Izzy scooted back to the wall and lay behind Finn with her book in front of her. 

“Think we’ll get out tomorrow?” Finn said drowsily. 

“Doubtful,” Izzy said as she flipped a page.

Finn waited for a response and then gave a sleepy smile as they realized she was reading and there was no way they were going to have an in-depth conversation with her.

“I love you,” Finn said.

Izzy leaned over and gave them a kiss and said, “Love you too.” 

Finn closed their eyes and listened to Izzy flipping pages as they drifted off. Finn didn’t know how long they’d been asleep when the door came banging open. The room was dark and Finn could feel Izzy curled up behind them with her arm over them. There was the sound of hands slapping at each other and furious whispers. 

“Don’t turn the light on you idiot!” Finn heard Artho saying in a loud whisper. 

“Well shut the door you fool!” Oak whispered loudly back. 

Finn could feel Izzy sitting up behind them as one of them managed to shut the door.

“What is going on, you two?” Finn whispered as they reached over and hit the data pad to activate the screen and give a little light in the room. 

“ _ She _ tried to hustle those two women at Liars Dice!” Artho whispered fiercely as she pointed at Oak.

“I did  _ not! _ ” Oak whispered back. “They were trying to hustle us!” 

“I know! I’ve known Aunt Tossa  _ how many years _ and you think I don’t know what a hustle looks like!?” Artho said, trying to keep her voice low.

“Stop!” Finn said through gritted teeth. “Just say what happened!”

Izzy was sitting up at this point yawning and calmly said, “Do we need to run?” 

“What? No!” Oak said.

“Well… maybe,” Artho said.

“No! Ok, so we were talking and one of them, said her name was Reaver, invited us over to play. We sat down at their table and two other people wandered by and just suddenly became interested in playing with the four of us,” Oak said. 

“That’s the start of the hustle,” Artho said.

“I know! I’ve known Aunt Tossa as long as you have! Let me tell it!” Oak hissed. “They start playing and it’s pretty obvious they’re switching to loaded dice on some of the rolls so I just started playing with that in mind. It was pretty easy. Then they started betting and again, we were both doing alright.”

“Because I could see the dice getting switched too but then  _ she _ decided to bet big and threw in the key to the skiff!” Artho said.

“ _ You lost the skiff!?”  _ Finn and Izzy both said in unison.

“No! They bet their truck against it but I managed to palm their loaded dice and they got all irritated because they lost,” Oak said. “Poor sports if you ask me.” 

Artho rolled her eyes and said, “Yes, the organized group of dice hustlers were poor sports.”

“What. About. Our. Skiff?” Finn said slowly.

“Well, they started screaming about cheating and went to grab our key but Artho was faster and grabbed it and then one of them threw the table aside and we went running,” Oak said. 

Finn suddenly realized they were damp and said, “Have you been hiding outside? In a blizzard!?” 

They both looked sheepish and Oak said, “Not for long. We snuck in the back and hid in a closet for the last hour until it calmed down. Then we came up.” 

Izzy started snickering and was soon covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh too loud and disturb anyone. Finn looked at her and started quietly laughing too and soon the other two had joined in as well. Then suddenly they all went still and wide eyed as there was a quiet knock on the door. 

Finn got up while Artho and Oak both waved frantically not to open the door. Finn ignored them and cracked the door open. 

“Evening,” the hostel owner said from the other side. 

“Evening,” Finn said. 

“Just wanted to let you know, and your friends I can hear trying to hide in there, that there’s no hard feelings and that those four aren’t staying here so they should be alright,” they said. “Going to be here another night?” 

“If the weather doesn’t let up,” Finn said.

“I’ll mark you down for it. Just one thing. I’m calling it luck tonight but if those two try and hustle anyone from here forward, all of you will be looking for another place, blizzard or no blizzard. Understood?” they said giving Finn a look. 

“Absolutely. Won’t happen,” Finn said nodding solemnly. “Thank you for letting us know they’re gone.”

“Not a problem. Have a good night,” they said. 

Finn shut the door and they all waited a moment before they started laughing again, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

“We will  _ not _ be telling our parents about this one,” Finn said.

The next morning they all woke up and could hear the wind still blowing. They went downstairs and peaked out the small windows to see the town covered in snow and more coming down every minute. 

As they all sat down at a table, Artho said, “Well, I know the skiff has a wide flight range tolerance but let’s be honest, we don’t. The Horde wasn’t thinking of comfort when they built them. I say we wait it out.” 

The others nodded and Izzy started making notes on the schedule. 

Finn said, “Well, even if it does clear, that doesn’t mean we can reach Moraine. The weather could go that way.” 

A skinny woman sitting behind them leaned back towards their table and said, “Hey, couldn’t help but overhear. You all trying to get out to Moraine?” 

Finn turned and nodded at her and said, “Yeah. We got an old skiff though so I guess we’ll just have to wait until the weather calms.” 

The woman shook her head and said, “Well, you should get a chance this evening. Storms supposed to die off by then and it’s headed away from Moraine. The cloud base will be low though so you won’t have any light from the moons so it’ll be strictly instrument flying only. You know how to fly at night like that?” 

The other three turned and looked at Artho. She looked back and said, “Yeah, I’ve done it before.” 

“Well, if you decide you don’t want to take the chance, my names Iceaia. You can find me over at the ground cargo terminals on the north side of town. I got a big rig, I can fit you four on board, no problem, and give you a lift there and back. I leave again in two days, just catch me before then to let me know,” she said. 

Finn gave her hand a shake and said, “Thanks. We appreciate the offer.” 

“Not a problem. If nothing else, I heard that two of you suckered some hustlers who’d been preying on people. Gotta give you respect for that,” Iceaia said as she stood up to go. “See you if I see you.” 

As she walked away, Oak was sitting up straighter with a grin on her face.

“Oh Mara, there’s going to be no living with you after this,” Artho said with her hand on her face. 

“Did you hear that? We have a  _ reputation for good! _ ” Oak said. 

Izzy gave a small smile and said, “Well, to change the subject, do we want to take the flight or do we want to travel with Iceaia?” 

Finn turned to Artho and said, “Can you really fly by instrument only?” 

“Sure. I said I’ve done it before,” Artho said. 

“When?” Oak said, confused.

“Ok, ok, so I’ve done it once. With Mom on board. But it’s really not that hard! I’ve also done it in simulation plenty of times!” Artho said. 

“Oh, well, that’s just fine,” Finn said sarcastically. 

Izzy was shaking her head and said, “I don’t know. Moraine is a long way off and we did say we’re not going to try and fly at night.” 

Oak leaned forward and said, “Alright, normally I’d take this moment to mercilessly roast my sister but I trust her. She says she can do it, she can do it. And we can just not tell that we flew at night. It’s really our trip anyway.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “Well, that’s true. We are the ones out here. We can make the best decisions because we have the most information.”

Finn looked at Izzy with a bit of shock and then at the rest and said, “I can’t believe I’m the voice of reason on this. Are we seriously considering this? We can just wait and catch a ride.” 

“Seriously, I can do it,” Artho said. “Listen. We take off, I fly a few kilometers. If it looks too rough, I turn around and go back to the hangar. Less than thirty minutes, tops, to tell.” 

Oak patted Finn on the shoulder and said, “Come on, Finn! Think of the stories!” 

Finn snorted and said, “You were just saying we don’t tell anyone. Alright, against my better judgment then. Let’s do it.” 

Artho smiled and said, “Thank you for your trust.” 

Finn said, “Please don’t make me regret this.”

“You sound like our parents,” Artho said with a laugh as they started to figure out breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a heck of a week, just trying, but being able to post this today is definitely one of the better parts of it. Trials and tribulations: Fun to write, fun to read, annoying to deal with. I'm doing good though and I hope you are as well and are as hyped to read this chapter as I was to write it and post it. Enjoy!


	7. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down: It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for The Team to fly on to Moraine, the place they've been planning to go for some time. However, things don't always go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

As reported, the storm started to slow down by late morning and by late afternoon it had blown out, leaving only low clouds behind. Finn talked to the hostel keeper and let them know they might be back that night but not to hold the room. 

“You sure about this?” they asked.

“No,” Finn said. “But I’m outvoted.”

The hostel keeper gave a sharp laugh and said, “Well good luck then and be careful.” 

The Team walked along the sidewalks that had been cleared of snow by people coming out of their businesses and houses after the storm. Now with the people mingling in the streets and chatting and laughing among the bright colors of the houses and the lights strung up and gleaming off the new snow everything seemed extra festive. They twirled around to take it all in and people waved and greeted them as if they were old friends even though no one knew who they were. 

“It kind of reminds me of what I’ve read about the celebrations after the Fall of Prime,” Izzy said as they got close to the airport. 

“It’s fantastic,” Artho said as she gave a slow turn to take it all in. “If we can, I want to spend some more time here before we go back.” 

“Well we should probably drop in on Auntie Frosta if we can but yeah, I think I’d like to spend some time here as well,” Finn said looking around. 

Izzy looked at them as they walked through the gate to the airport and said, “I figured you’d all have been everywhere. Is this really that great?” 

Oak said, “Well Finn is a bit better travelled then either of us but yeah, something about it just feels, I don’t know, special I guess.” 

“I agree,” Finn said. 

They opened up the hangar and worked to get the skiff out and then loaded up. They put on a few extra layers and got on board. Artho began making checks and everyone fell silent as she started up the main engine. 

“We sure about this?” Finn said. 

Artho gave a grin and suddenly they were airborne. Artho spiraled them out over the town and the lights gleaming off the snow was just as beautiful from above as Artho settled down on course and gave close attention to the instruments. Soon, they were out over the countryside and it was like flying through a cave. Finn felt their fur trying to rise as the frigid wind whipped around them. 

“It’s been a bit,” Finn said over the wind. “I’m guessing you’re not turning back?” 

Artho shook her head and said, “Nope. Doing pretty good. We’re high enough that we should avoid any hills and as long as Oak gives me good directions, we should be there by late evening.”

Finn watched a lone light in the darkness below go past and shuddered a little. The lack of visual cues was making them feel nervous. Izzy, her face behind her scarf, set her hand on Finn’s shoulder and squeezed it through the layers of clothes. Finn looked at her in the dim light of the instrument panel that barely filtered up to them and saw her nod. They nodded back and tried to stay calm as time passed. 

After hours in the air Finn wondered how much longer when they saw Oak standing next to Artho looking frightened as they whispered to each other. Finn immediately got up and went to them. 

“What’s going on?” Finn asked.

“Um, just a small issue, nothing huge,” Artho said, trying to sound nonchalant. 

“You both look scared,” Finn said. “Just tell me.” 

Oak scratched at her head and said, “Well, there’s a beacon at the Moraine port we should be receiving by now. We’re not.” 

Finn blinked and then said, “What does that mean?” 

“Well, it’s how we guide ourselves in on the final leg,” Artho said. “We could try and find the lights of the town but that’s iffy, especially if there’s ground fog or anything like that.”

Izzy had come up behind Finn and was listening as Finn felt a moment of panic. 

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Izzy said. 

Oak nodded and said, “I’ve checked it twice. Do either of you know how? I want someone to re-check it.”

Izzy and Finn both shook their heads and Oak groaned. 

“Well what do we do now?” Artho said. “I need a decision, quickly.” 

“Can we make it back to Serac?” Izzy asked.

“Yeah, but I’m going to be exhausted. This is harder than I thought. It takes a lot of effort,” Artho said. “But I think we should push through.” 

Finn was shaking their head and said, “No, I think we should turn around right now.” 

Oak was shaking her head as well and said, “I’m with Finn on this. Moraine isn’t a big town, we could very easily miss it in the dark and according to the map the country past it is vast and empty.”

Izzy thought for a moment and said, “I think we should push through.”

Finn looked at Izzy and said, “What!? Why!?” 

Izzy said, “Do we have an idea of much longer before we should be seeing Moraine?” 

“Yes,” Artho and Oak both said. 

“Going back is a bad idea because if we did navigate wrong, we’re going back along a bad course and we could miss Serac as well,” Izzy said. “What we should do is give it that time you know it’s supposed to take plus a small buffer and if we don’t see it, we assume we missed. At that point, we land, set up camp and try again in the morning when we can get visual landmarks.” 

Finn spoke up after a moment of silence and said, “I don’t like it very much, especially trying to land in the dark, but I guess if we missed Serac going back we’d still have to do the same thing. Let’s do it.” 

Oak nodded and Artho said, “Alright. Oak, give me a time.” 

Izzy and Finn stepped back to the front and sat back down as Artho and Oak bent to the task of trying to get them to Moraine. Izzy leaned into Finn and Finn could feel her shaking. 

“Are you cold?” Finn said. 

“I’m scared,” Izzy said through chattering teeth. 

“This is your idea though,” Finn said.

Izzy looked at Finn and said, “That doesn’t make me any less scared. If anything, I’m more scared because everyone is depending on it.” 

Finn hugged her close and said, “I trust you.” 

Izzy didn’t say anything back but just hugged them back and they both settled down to wait. Izzy felt herself getting more and more agitated as time went past in the dark and the cold. Oak looked up and said, “That’s time. We at least should be able to see the lights of Moraine by now.”

They all looked out into the dark and saw nothing. 

Artho said, “Fifteen minutes more is what Oak and I decided and then we need to figure out about setting down.” 

Finn nodded, feeling the fear settling in their chest. They all looked around as they flew, trying to spot anything, and it was like each of them could almost feel the clock starting to tick down. 

“That’s… that’s fifteen minutes,” Oak said haltingly. “How are we going to set down?" 

Artho could feel her hands hurting from gripping the controls and said, “Carefully. I’m going to turn on all the lights and come in as slow as I can to try and find an open spot.” 

Izzy took a deep breath to try and slow down her pounding heart and said, “We’re pretty far north. Most of the trees should be more like bushes.”

Artho gave a nervous grin and said, “Well, here’s to hoping then.” 

As they started to descend, Finn noticed something off to the left and a bit behind them and shouted, “Wait! What’s that over there?”

They all turned to look but all they saw was darkness. 

“Finn, I don’t see anything,” Oak said, straining to look. 

“I think I can see some faint light off the clouds,” Finn said, pointing. “Go that way!” 

“Finn, we can’t just stumble around in the dark. We could hit a mountain,” Artho said.

“The instruments should warn us if you’re not going too fast,” Oak said. “Go that way. Finn’s eyes are better than ours.” 

Izzy, crouched at the railing, said, “Do it.”

Artho grumbled under her breath but turned the skiff in the direction Finn pointed. After a few minutes, the rest could begin to see faint light off the clouds. 

“Is it Moraine?” Oak said. 

“Right now, I don’t care. It’s something creating light,” Artho said. “At least I’ll be able to set down next to it.” 

The light began to get brighter and Artho brought them up a bit higher and as they cleared a ridge they could see individual lights in a town. 

“I think it’s Moraine!” Oak said as she looked at a map and back at the town below. Suddenly she got excited and started pointing as she grabbed Artho. “YES! IT IS! THERE’S THE AIRPORT! THAT’S IT!” 

“I can see it! Stop shouting in my ear!” Artho yelled back. 

Finn felt like they were going to fall over from the release of tension and turned in time for Izzy to grab them and plant a huge kiss on them. 

Finn went wide eyed and then started laughing at the look on Izzy’s face. She had a huge smile on her face and her eyes were bright as she said, “We did it!” 

Oak laughed and said, “Of course we did! Never had a doubt in my mind we’d overcome!”

Finn sat down and was still laughing as Artho guided them into a landing spot. Artho let go and shut everything down and then sat down with her head on her knees.

“You alright there?” Oak said as she knelt down next to her.

Artho nodded as she held out her hands. They were shaking as the tension and fear ran through her and she said, “I will be. That was terrifying.” 

Izzy and Finn walked over and knelt down next to her and placed hands on her back and shoulders.

“You did a great job,” Finn said. 

“Any landing you can walk away from…,” Artho started to say and then stopped as a tremor ran through her. 

“Thank you,” Izzy said as she patted Artho on the back.

Artho sighed and said, “Alright, alright, enough. I got us here. Now let’s find a place to sleep. My tail is freezing.” 

A head covered in a hood popped up next to the skiff and said, “What are you all doing here?” 

“Landing,” Artho said in confusion before getting a bit irritated. “And for that matter, why is the beacon not active? We couldn’t find it on the way in and almost had to set down out in the woods.” 

“The beacon turns off when the airport shuts down for the evening,” the person said. “Been off for almost three hours. Only reason I’m even here is because I heard you come in and came out to see what was going on.” 

“How was I supposed to know that!?” Artho said.

“It’s in the latest aviation manual,” the person said. 

Artho picked up the manual they had and held it up and the person started shaking their head and said, “That’s six months out of date.” 

Artho threw it on the deck and started laughing and said, “Of course it is!”

The person gave them all a weird look and said, “Well, I’m glad you made it. Been on too many SAR missions so I’m glad you didn’t turn into one.” 

Finn chimed in and said, “Uh, I’m Finn. Can you tell us where a place to stay is?” 

The person looked and said, “Sally. And I’d say the inn but it’s late. No reason to bother them for now. I’ve got an office you can bunk down in for the night if you want. Nice and warm.” 

Finn said, “Thank you, Sally. We’d appreciate it.” 

“Not a problem. Let’s get you stowed and I’ll show you the office,” Sally said. 

Sally helped them put a tarp over the skiff and strap it down and then walked them over to a small building next to the tower. She showed them the office and The Team wandered in. 

“Toilet and sink behind the desk, I’ll be back in the morning. And you,” Sally said, pointing at Artho, “I’ll bring you a new manual tomorrow.” 

“Thank you,” Artho said.

“You’re welcome,” Sally said as she left. 

The four shucked off their cold weather gear and then sat down around the room and sat in silence as they soaked in the heat of the office. Artho held the aviation manual in her hand and stared at a wall and Finn noticed she was shaking a little still. 

“Artho, you did a good job,” Finn said. 

Artho turned to face the others and said, “No, I didn’t. I was lucky. I got cocky. I almost got us killed because I didn’t bother to check the manual.” 

Oak spoke up and said, “What? No you didn’t. If anything, it was me. The beacon is important, sure, but I obviously did something wrong on the navigation.” 

Artho shook her head and said, “Maybe you did but I just read this. Sally was kind. She’s right, it’s out of date but it still clearly states the beacon isn’t on all the time. I didn’t bother to check. I just assumed because the Fright Zone beacon is always on that this one would be as well.” 

Everyone looked at Artho as she sat the old manual on the desk next to her. 

“I should… I should probably go home,” she said with her head hung down. “You can catch a ride back with Iceaia. It’ll be safer than letting me fly you.” 

Finn said, “Come on, you don’t need to do that. It’s alright. It worked out.” 

“But what if it hadn’t?” Artho said, still looking down. “You think I want to tell everyone’s family what I screwed up?” 

“But you didn’t,” Izzy said. 

“But I almost did!” Artho said in frustration, looking up as Izzy shrunk back a little. 

“Stop it,” Oak said with anger in her voice. “Stop trying to take all the blame for this. Finn was against taking the flight but the rest of us were fine with it. And before you say that you should have checked the manual, I know how to fly too. I don’t know the instrument part like you do but I could have checked the manual as well. Mom would say that you took a calculated risk and adapted when it didn’t work out just right. Mom would tell you that you pushed outside your comfort zone and you’ve had the universe give you a little nudge to remind you to be careful when you do. Stop trying to play martyr.”

Finn said, “It’s true. I could blame myself for even bringing us out here. Let’s just say mistakes were made and try not to do it again alright?” 

Artho nodded in silence. 

Oak sighed and stepped over to hug her sister and said, “You knocked me off a wall in Horror Hall once and I ended up needing five stitches to close the wound in my leg. This is nothing, alright?” 

Artho gave a little snorting chuckle and said, “You had it coming. And thank you.” 

Finn started to unpack their sleeping bag and said, “Not that hearing about you two doing horrible things to each other isn’t fun but it’s late and I assume Sally is going to want her office early. Let’s get what sleep we can.” 

They all agreed and Izzy turned off the light. They moved the chairs out of the way and lined up on the floor. They all thought they’d not be able to sleep but in the dim light from the hall and the warmth of the room after being out in the deep cold outside, they all slipped under into sleep with hardly a murmur. 

Finn woke up in the morning to a foot gently nudging them and the smell of breakfast in the air. 

“Come on, up and off my floor,” Sally said quietly with a smile. 

Finn sat up yawning and looked around to see Izzy and Oak both doing the same. Artho was nowhere to be seen and her stuff was gone. 

“Uh, have you seen our friend?” Finn said, trying to keep an edge of panic out of their voice. 

“Nope. Came in a few minutes ago and it was just you three,” Sally said as she shook her head and then pointed at a bag on her desk. “Got some hot food for you all though. You got an hour before I open up so eat up, get ready, and get going. Please.”

Oak was already up and rummaging around in the bag and had a breakfast sandwich shoved in her mouth as she mumbled a thanks around it. Sally gave a little wave and walked out of the office. 

“Oak, how can you just stand there eating!? Artho is gone!” Finn said. 

“Because I’m hungry and because it’s cold outside and I need to eat to keep myself warm for when we go looking for her,” Oak said with a worried tone.

Izzy shuffled over to the bag and grabbed two sandwiches, handed one to Finn and then sat down in a chair. Finn sighed and took a bite. 

“Well, I thought this would be an adventure but it’s just turning into a trial,” Finn said as they ate the sandwich quickly and then packed up the few things they had taken out the night before. 

The other two packed as well as Izzy said, “I always thought all adventures were really trials from what I’ve read. They only sound exciting afterwards.” 

Finn shook their head as they wrote out a quick thank you note and left it on the desk. As they all walked out of the office Oak said, “We should probably check to see if the skiff is still here.” 

“You don’t think she’d try and leave in the middle of the night again?” Izzy said. 

“I don’t know but it’s the only thing I can think to try right now,” Oak said. 

They started walking down the hall and they stopped as they turned a corner and saw out the front doors. It was early morning but the light spilling in the doors made it look like the middle of the day. The three sat and blinked a little at the dazzling light and Izzy nodded and said, “The clouds must have cleared last night and the light is being reflected off the snow. That’s really bright. Do we have tinted goggles or anything?”

“Why? Finn said. 

“Because after a bit in that, we could potentially go temporarily blind from what I’ve read,” Izzy said. 

“I’m sorry, did you say  _ blind?” _ Oak said. 

Izzy nodded and said, “Temporarily.” 

Oak threw her hands up and said, “Oh, temporarily. That’s… that’s just wonderful. My idiot sister has decided to pull a disappearing act and now we may be temporarily blind. I’d say what else could go wrong but I really don’t want to tempt the universe like that.”

Finn was about to apologize to them for dragging them into this again when Izzy looked at them and said, “We’re living the life aren’t we?” 

Finn gave a little snort and a thumbs up.

“Alright, I got us into this, I should probably make some decisions. I think we have some goggles but they’re in the skiff. Let’s make that the first thing and then we can go try and find Artho,” Finn said. 

Oak leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling before looking back down and saying, “I guess we can do that. Assuming the skiff is even there and my sister didn’t take it out in the middle of the night. And then we have to try and figure out if she made it to wherever she was trying to go or…” 

The three stood for a second and Finn put their arm around Oak and gave her a quick hug.

“What would your Mom say? Something about positive thoughts I’m sure. So let’s go check the skiff before we start thinking of terrible outcomes alright?” Finn said. 

Oak sniffed a little and nodded and they stepped outside into the cold air and blinding light. 

“Ooof, that is… that is something else,” Finn said, squinting their eyes down as tight as they could and still see.

Izzy pulled her scarf down lower until there was just a slit she was peeking out of and Oak took a breath and started walking. It wasn’t long before they were there and they saw the tarp over the skiff. They trotted up to it and Finn got under it. 

“It’s ours,” Finn said. “No mistaking that paint job.”

Oak let out a little sigh and said, “Ok, so that means she at least wasn’t a complete idiot. Just her usual idiot. Where is she?”

Finn was digging around in a storage hatch and came back up slipping on tinted goggles with a sigh. 

“Haven’t a clue but I found these,” Finn said, holding out two sets. As Izzy and Oak took the goggles and started getting them on, Finn lingered by the hatch for a moment. The scent of home had come out of the hatch when they’d opened it up. They took one last breath of the smell of the wood the gear had been stored in up in the attic mixed with the laundry soap their moms used and just the general smell of the house before closing and securing the hatch. They sat under the tarp for a moment and felt a stab of homesickness. 

Finn came back out into the light and even through the tint of the lens everything was still bright. They could see the town was painted up in bright colors like Serac had been with steeply sloping roofs and a few people starting to move around. 

“Now what?” Oak said. 

“We should first see if there’s any place nearby she’d have gone for food,” Izzy said. “One of us should probably stay by the skiff in case she returns here. The other two stay together and check back here occasionally.” 

Oak said, “I’ll stay here. You two go looking. If she comes back here I can throttle her in privacy.” 

Izzy shook her head and said, “I thought you’d want to go looking and I was going to stay. Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Oak said. 

Finn said, “Well I certainly wasn’t going to so I’m glad you two are interested.”

Izzy said, “Well, I’ll go with Finn then.”

Oak gave a grin and said, “Don’t make me twist your arm or anything.”

Finn was pretty sure Izzy was blushing but couldn’t tell under the scarf and goggles. She looked away in embarrassment for a moment and then said, “Wait. Is that her?” 

They all turned to look and saw Artho striding along towards them and waving. 

“Where did she get goggles?” Oak said in exasperation. 

Finn gave a little smack on the side of their head and said, “The skiff. It didn’t even occur to me there were only three pairs in the storage when we obviously would have packed four.” 

Oak started walking towards her shouting, “Where have you been!? We thought you’d run off!”

Artho stopped and said, “I woke up early and couldn’t sleep. I felt bad so I went off and found the inn. Sorry it took so long but they weren’t open and I had to wait.” 

“Do you have any idea how freaked out I’ve been!?” Oak said. 

Artho’s tail curled around her as she kicked at the snow and said, “I’m sorry. I screwed up again didn’t I?” 

Oak kept walking up to her and grabbed her tight in a hug and said, “Yes! Leave a note next time, idiot!”

Artho hugged her back and said, “I would have but I figured you wouldn’t read it since you go bouncing around like a hyperactive toddler every morning.”

Izzy looked at Finn and said, “They confuse me.” 

Finn shrugged and said, “It’s a sibling thing I think.” 

Oak stepped back and said, “Did you at least get us a room?” 

Artho gave a smile and said, “I did! It’s pretty nice. Not real big though and we’re up near the top of the roof so the walls are part of the ceiling and they’re really sloped. Just two beds but they’re big. Not really any furniture though.” 

Finn laughed and said, “Pretty nice huh? No furniture with cramped sloping walls. Sounds delightful.”

“But warm! Warm is real big on my list of nice right now,” Artho said. 

“Thank you, Artho. It sounds fine. It’s not like we’re going to be hanging out in it,” Izzy said. 

“See? Izzy appreciates me,” Artho said. 

“Because Izzy hasn’t lived with you like I have,” Oak said as she tossed a little snow at her. 

“Hey! Watch it!” Artho shouted as she threw snow back at Oak.

Oak looked at her and then suddenly the two were furiously throwing snow back and forth. Finn started laughing until one of the two threw a handful at Finn and it hit them in the face. Izzy snickered a little as Finn stood there in a bit of shock for a moment. 

“Oh, that’s funny is it?” Finn said. 

Izzy laughed and said, “Yes.”

Finn reached down to grab a handful when Izzy suddenly whipped her hand down and scooped up a bit and underhanded it at Finn.

“Izzy!” Finn shouted with laughter. 

“I’m sorry! I had to!” Izzy said.

“No, it’s alright,” Finn said as they tossed some snow at her. “Now I don’t feel bad for doing this.” 

Izzy laughed and the four were soon trading snowballs back and forth. It didn’t last long but as they walked away laughing and brushing snow off themselves, they all felt refreshed. The Team walked along the streets and Finn kept feeling a bit off. 

“We’re really in Moraine aren’t we?” Finn said. 

The others looked at them and Izzy squeezed Finn’s hand and bumped up against their shoulder. 

“We are,” Izzy said. 

“It doesn’t seem quite real,” Finn said. 

"Why not?" Oak said.

"I don't know. We just sat down all those weeks ago and started plowing through the archive and then the getting ready to go and then the getting here and now, well, here we are," Finn said. "It's happening but I guess it’s just now sinking in."

Oak said, “Makes sense. We’ve been kind of acting like it’s a vacation but really, it’s not. We’re here for your mysterious past.”

Finn snorted a little and said, “Yes, my mysterious past.”

“Well it is!” Oak said. 

“I’m supposed to be the one into drama,” Finn said.

“Trust me, she’s gunning for your crown,” Artho said. “Has been since the day she was born.” 

Izzy said, “Well, to get us back on track here, we came here to interview that beekeeper. How about we do that?” 

Finn smiled at Izzy and said, “Well, I guess. I was thinking we could just hang out but we did do a bit of research and we did come all this way after all.” 

Finn could almost hear Izzy rolling her eyes at them. 

They walked to the edge of town, following the directions from the research, and soon they were walking through a large field with mounds of snow. On the far side, near some low trees, sat a small cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney. A few glacier bees drifted lazily around, flitting shapes in blue and white, and Izzy stopped to watch them. One landed on her and the rest backed up a little. 

“Uh, Iz, move slow. There’s one on your back,” Finn said nervously.

Izzy stood up and stuck her hand back and it crawled onto her mitten.

“They don’t sting,” Izzy said as she looked closely at the bug. “They don’t have much in the way of defense mechanisms. The coloring is one of the big ones and that’s camouflage to avoid being eaten. Not much tries to eat their honey because it’s foul tasting. Well, to others. I assume they like it. We found out it’s medicinal and that’s why they were domesticated. I wonder how we found that out?” 

“Slathering it on burns and finding out it healed up faster more than likely,” a voice said from behind one of the mounds. The four jumped and the bee flew off Izzy’s glove and went back to wandering around the field. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” the voice continued. A small man covered in white fur with large eyes and wearing a huge parka down to his knees with the hood down stepped out from around the mound. “Names Rother. I’m the beekeeper here. What brings you around?” 

Finn had been thinking about how to approach this and went straight into their routine. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Rother. My name is Rose. This here is Iz and the two over there are Ovule and Sepal,” Finn said as they pointed at Artho and Oak.

“Nice to meet you as well. Now, your accent says Bright Moon but your names say Plumeria,” Rother said. “Of course you’re all the way up here in the Snows so who am I to say anything about moving around.” 

“Good ear!” Finn said. “Well Ovule and Sepal are both born and raised Plumerians. I moved to Bright Moon at a young age myself. Iz is from Bright Moon.”

Oak gave a smile and said, “Yep, that’s me. Sepal, from Plumeria.”

Izzy felt herself getting tense. She wasn’t sure what Finn was doing but she wished they’d talked it out with her instead of springing the whole thing on her. At least they were using her name and not some made up one that she’d have had to try and remember. The beekeeper didn’t seem to realize it or even really care. 

“Well, now you do sound Plumerian but you got a bit of a touch of something in your voice I can’t quite place,” Rother said in reply to Oak. Then he shrugged and said, “But I’ll figure it out. Accents and voices are a bit of a thing of mine. When a lot of the people you deal with spend most of the year with their face covered, you get used to hearing the little inflections. Anyway, what brings you all up from Plumeria and Bright Moon?” 

Finn said, “Well, we’re friends and we’re doing a book together on She-Ra and her wife and their life. We came across something saying that her wife had come up here once years ago and we were already going to go see Princesses Frosta to try and interview her so we decided we would stop by and ask questions. That’s if you don’t mind of course.” 

Rother didn’t say anything for a moment as they looked at the four of them and then smiled and said, “Of course not! It gets a bit quiet out here so it’s always good to get visitors. If you want, let’s head inside. The cold doesn’t bother me that much but three of you aren’t blessed with fur and Rose, I don’t think you’ve got the fur for this kind of cold.”

“That is true!” Finn said. “Sure, let’s head in.” 

They all made their way inside to the cabin. It was mostly stone and when they went inside they found that it had been dug into the ground so they had to descend a short flight of steps into the living area. They left their boots at the door and hung their coats and stuff up and walked down where they all got seated as Rother threw a few bits of peat into the stove that warmed the room and then settled in. Artho and Oak kept throwing glances at each other, Izzy sat ramrod straight on the couch, and Finn just leaned back with a smile. 

“Do you all need anything? Drink? Bite to eat?” Rother said.

They all shook their head and Rother continued on.

“Alright, so you came out to see what Catra visited me about years ago. Got to say, this sounds like an incredibly detailed book. She was only here for a short while,” Rother said. 

Finn grinned and said, “Well, part of it is just an excuse to travel. Iz you heard knows about glacier bees so we figured we could see the bees, talk to a keeper of them, and maybe get a little anecdote for the book as well while we were at it. That’s if you don’t mind talking about it of course.”

“Well, I don’t mind talking about the bees and all and it all depends on what you ask me about Catra but I don’t mind that either,” Rother said. 

Izzy had pulled out a notepad and was trying not to shake a bit as she shuffled through to a blank page. She pulled a pen out and tried to write a heading but nothing came out. She tried a few more pens but nothing worked. 

“Pen’s frozen,” Rother said.

“I’m sorry?” Izzy said with a bit of a jump. 

“Pen’s frozen. Why you can’t write with them. You had them in your bag so the ink is frozen. Common mistake. Stick them inside one of your inner layers and they’ll thaw out. Might leak a little though when they do. You can get some pens in town that won’t freeze unless it’s really cold but really, easier just to keep them tucked close to you unless you’re going to be spending tons of time outside. Or use a pencil,” Rother said. 

Izzy nodded and put a few in her shirt pocket and then pulled out a pencil and made the heading. 

“There you go,” Rother said. “Alright, what do you want to know?” 

Finn started off by asking a few beekeeping questions and Rother went into long details about it and everyone started relaxing. That immediately changed when Finn said, “Alright, so Catra. What’d she think of the bees?” 

Rother said, “Didn’t have an opinion. She came walking up to my door one evening and when I opened it, I knew who she was immediately. I’d always heard she was grouchy and grumpy so I was a bit, you know, worried, but she was actually pretty friendly. Part of that was probably the desire to get out of the cold but she was a friendly person. She seated herself right there next to the stove. Offered her a chair but she said she was fine. Honestly thought she was going to curl up in front of the thing.”

Finn was nodding along and said, “Sounds like what we’ve been reading, that she mellowed out as she got older.” 

“Well of course I only met her the once but that’s what I found. She asked about what she’d come to ask me about, talked a little bit about this and that and then went on her way,” Rother said. “It was after dark and I offered her a place to stay but she said she’d be fine and went on her way. That was it.” 

Finn said, “I haven’t met her myself but I’m looking forward to it. We’re going to try and interview her and She-Ra eventually but we want to get some stuff under our belts first, show we’re serious.” 

Rother laughed and said, “Well, you’re up here in the Snows bumping up against the edge of winter so I’d say you’re all pretty serious.” 

Izzy felt like the conversation was winding down and was beginning to feel pretty good. Oak leaned forward and said, “Any chance I could use your bathroom?” 

Rother said, “Sure, um, sorry, I can’t remember your name.” 

Oak went blank. She couldn’t remember what fake name Finn had given her and could feel the panic starting to rise within her. Finn jumped in and said, “Good idea, Sepal. We probably all should before we start walking back.” 

Rother smiled and said, “That’s right! Sepal. It’s that door right there.” 

Oak got up and quickly scurried over to the bathroom. Finn gave an internal sigh of relief and then said to Rother, “Well, it was real nice of you to take time out of your day to talk to us.” 

“Not really an issue. As I said earlier when I was talking bees, this time of year is just checking the hives to make sure they’re about ready for the winter. It was fun chatting with you,” Rother said. 

“Before we go though, could I ask you why Catra was up here?” Finn said. 

Rother said, “Well, her and her wife and friends had been looking for someone. I thought the person they were looking for was someone that had worked for me but turned out I was wrong. They found the person I thought it was and that person hadn’t even left town. Felt kind of silly to be honest, dragging her all the way up here for nothing.” 

Finn weighed an option in their mind and decided that it was worth taking a chance on it. 

“Was this when they were trying to find people who might know the child they eventually adopted?” Finn said.

Rother nodded and said, “It was. Surprised you’ve heard about that.” 

Finn said, “The search pops up in a few of the materials we researched. I kind of figured it might be the reason. Who was the person, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Rother shook their head and said, “I do actually. He was a bit irritated at me back then for saying it was him. We made up though but I won’t say who it was. Not putting that out there again. It won’t do any good anyway. He’s passed on.”

The room went silent. Oak came back in and looked around in confusion and met eyes with Artho who just shook her head. Oak sat down as the silence stretched out. Izzy looked down at her notepad and clutched her pencil tight.

Finn wasn’t sure how to feel. They finally said, “I’m sorry for your loss.” 

Rother gave a sad smile and said, “Thank you. I’m glad he and I were able to make up before it happened and it’s been a while now. Doesn’t hurt like it used to. I’d appreciate it though if you kept that part out of your book.” 

Finn said, “We’ll probably leave this all out. It’s interesting but doesn’t really add to the book.”

Rother said, “That’s alright. Like I said, it was good just getting a chance to chat.”

“Well, I think we’ll be heading out now,” Finn said as they stood up. Everyone stood up and there was a round of handshakes and thanks and quick visits to the bathroom and they were soon bundled up again and walking in silence down the road. Artho was the first to speak up.

“Well, that was, um, interesting,” Artho said. 

Finn nodded in silence. Izzy kept looking at Finn, trying to figure out what they were thinking. 

“Could you have not named me Ovule though?” Artho said, trying to get a conversation going.

“How in the world did you remember your name?” Oak said. “That guy asked me mine and I just froze. I’m glad you jumped in, Finn.”

They walked a bit further in silence as they waited for Finn to respond. Finally, Izzy said, “Finn, are you ok?” 

Finn stopped in front of a small shop and said, “I don’t know. It didn’t occur to me that the lead we came to chase would be dead. I mean literally dead. I’m just kind of trying to process this whole thing.”

“We always knew there would be setbacks or that it might just not go anywhere,” Izzy said. “That was always a chance and we still have other leads to try and follow if this doesn’t work.” 

“Here’s a lead. Let’s go drop our bags at the inn, take a break, get some lunch, and honestly, I could use a hot shower too,” Artho said.

Oak said, “Normally I’d tease her for thinking about food and a break but yeah, that’s not a bad idea.” 

Finn looked up with a thin smile and said, “Alright. Let’s see this place you got us, Ovule.” 

“No you don’t. You’re not Applesaucing me like you did to your mom,” Artho said as they started walking. 

“I don’t know, I kind of like Sepal,” Oak said. 

“Well then be Sepal but no, not Ovule for me,” Artho said. “And maybe a little warning next time? I don’t know about Izzy but we don’t do improv.” 

Izzy hooked a thumb at Finn and said, “I’m just a stagehand. I leave that stuff up to Finn.”

Finn gave a little skip in the road and said, “You’re so much more than a stagehand but what are you all complaining about? You did fine.” 

The other three traded a look and then threw snowballs at Finn. As Finn ducked out of the way they smiled and gave a short laugh as they said, “All the great actors were mocked at first.” 

The Team were soon standing in the room that Artho had found for them. As she had said, the room had two sloping walls that they had to watch their heads in after they came up the spiral stairs into the space. A small window at the peak where the two sloping walls met let in the bright outdoor light. Finn sat down on one of the beds and let out a sigh. 

“Oh, that’s nice and soft,” Finn said as they fell backwards into it. “I was all set to roast you over this Artho but this is pretty decent.” 

“No you weren’t because you knew in your heart that I knew just how to pick something out,” Artho said as she shucked off her cold weather gear and walked into the small attached bathroom. “Now all you leave me alone. It’s going to be me and hot, hot water for a while.” 

As she slid the door shut, Oak sat on the bed and started pulling all the pillows over to her and stacking them up behind her. She said, “You know, I’m fully ready to camp out and rough it and do what’s necessary but I’d be lying if I said that this wasn’t a pretty sweet way to have an adventure.”

Izzy had tried to sit on the bed but pretty quickly had ended up curled up next to Finn. Finn took a few minutes to type out a quick message on the data pad and transmit it and then put an arm around Izzy. The three said a few things but slowly trailed off and they all drifted off to sleep. Artho came out of the bathroom in pajama pants and top to see everyone passed out asleep. She shrugged and pushed her sister over a little and grabbed a pillow and went to sleep in the warmth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it's been nine days since I've updated this! I went without power due to an ice storm for a while so it's nice to get back into writing again and getting this new chapter up. I hope everyone is enjoying themselves!


	8. That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team get ready for a mellow evening but that's never how these things go, do they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Izzy was the first to wake up and she got out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. She showered and when she got out of the bathroom the others were starting to wake up, blinking in the late afternoon light. 

“The water smells like sulfur,” she said as she sat back on the bed next to Finn and scratched between their ears. Finn purred a little and gave a smile as they stretched.

Artho yawned, her pale hair poofed out around her head as she sat up, and said, “Yeah, I noticed that earlier.”

“The town has some hot springs,” Izzy said. “The water is probably very mineral rich.” 

“And that means?” Artho said.

Izzy started to go into a lecture on the geology of the planet and how it applied in this case when she stopped and said, “Do you want to hear me info dump?” 

Artho said, “Later maybe. I think it’s whatever the equivalent of too early to a nap is right now.”

Izzy nodded and Finn looked at her a bit surprised. 

“I like your info dumps,” Finn said. 

“I know,” Izzy said. “But I gave myself a goal to try and be aware when I do them and realize that not everyone does like you do.” 

“Well you never have to ask me,” Finn said. “You can always info dump to me.”

Izzy kissed their forehead and said, “I know. It’s why I love being in a relationship with you.” 

Artho said, “Hey, Izzy, if you need to, go ahead.”

Izzy shook her head and said, “Nope. Moment’s past.” 

Oak, blinking from her pile of pillows, said, “Can we figure out lunch? Or dinner? Whatever meal we’re closest to and what time is it anyway?” 

Finn, sitting up, said, “Late afternoon. Let’s get ready and we’ll go find some food.” 

Artho said, “The inn has a place attached to the back if you want to check that out. I don’t think the dining options are real varied though.” 

“Food and enough of it is what I’m looking for,” Oak said. “Lack of variety will just be a hardship I endure.” 

Artho gave a push to her sister and said, “Really roughing it. That’s us.” 

Later, as night was falling, they all walked down and through the small lobby towards a sign that simply said, “Restaurant.” 

They walked into a dimly lit room with a bar on one end, a stage at the other, with dark wood walls decorated with knick-knacks and pictures. Tables were dotted around the room. A few small narrow windows were above the stage with heavy curtains hanging on them and blocking out any light from the outside. There were a few semi-private nooks with tables and a door at the back of the room. The room was already fairly full as The Team found themselves a table near the back and placed their order with a server who came past. 

As they did, an older woman took a chair, sat it on the stage, and made herself comfortable before pulling out a book and started to read out loud to the room. Oak leaned forward with her head in her hand as she listened. Finn chatted with Artho and Izzy about nothing of importance and soon their food was brought to the table. They all thanked the server and started eating. 

Finn was looking around the room as they ate, taking in the whole feel of the place, when they happened to look right at an older man sitting on the other side of the room with some people. He seemed to have been staring at Finn before quickly looking away as soon as Finn saw them. Finn didn’t give it much thought and went back to eating and chatting. Then they felt like someone was looking at them again and turned to see the older man looking away. Finn waited a few minutes and then looked carefully over and saw the man staring again. Finn kept their face neutral as they began to feel nervous and turned back to the table. 

“Alright, don’t look around,” Finn said quietly. “There’s someone who keeps staring at us and honestly, it’s kind of freaking me out.” 

Oak sat up a little straighter and made an effort to not look up as she said, “Are you sure?” 

Izzy felt herself go tense as she started thinking of the things that Catra had taught her.

Finn shook their head and said, “I’m sure. I’ve caught him looking a couple of times now.” 

Artho, who was across the table from Finn said, “I think I see who you’re talking about. Older guy? Blue, green, and white sweater?”

Finn shook their head again and said, “That’s the one.”

Izzy flexed her arms a little, trying to get herself loose.

“Finn, he’s looking at you,” Oak said as she took a peak out of the corner of her eye.

“What? How can you be sure?” Finn said.

“Because I thought I had his eye but I didn’t. He’s really focused in on you,” Oak said. “He’s got a weird look on his face and he keeps looking away and trying to have a conversation with the people at his table but he’s definitely focused on you.” 

Izzy carefully set her fork and knife down and was getting ready to stand up when Finn happened to catch the look on her face. It was the face of intensity they’d last seen back in their kitchen at home when they’d discussed what she’d do in a dangerous situation. 

“Izzy, don’t, please,” Finn said, feeling a moment of panic when they thought she wouldn’t listen.

Izzy looked at Finn and her face softened a little and Finn said, “It’s alright. Really. We’ll stay here and then just go up to the room when we’re ready. There’s a ton of people here. We’re perfectly safe.” 

Izzy found she couldn’t quite speak but she nodded at Finn and tried to relax a little. 

“What was that?” Artho said.

Izzy tried to say nothing and a little croak came out. She cleared her throat and said, “Nothing, it’s fine.” 

Artho looked between her and Finn and then Oak said, “Well, I think we may have worried for nothing. We’re all good, they’re leaving.” 

Finn looked over their shoulder in time to see the man walking through the doorway to the lobby. The man gave a look back again. Finn suddenly felt their gut tie itself into a knot and their fur stood up as the brighter light from the lobby lit up the man’s profile right before they disappeared through the doorway. The other three saw Finn’s face go still in shock. 

“Finn?” Izzy said. 

Finn blinked a few times and then managed to sputter out, “I think… I think that was Snow-by.” 

“What?” Izzy said in surprise.

“Who?” Artho and Oak said in unison. 

Finn was suddenly on their feet and running through the room, knocking into people, careening off the bar, and then out the door into the lobby. A few people were milling around the desk with the innkeeper and Finn looked around but didn’t see him. Finn could distantly hear Artho shouting their name as Finn ran up to the startled group. Speaking so fast that the words almost ran together Finn asked, “The guy who just came through here with the blue, green, and white sweater? Where did he go?” 

“Whoa, slow down there,” the innkeeper said with a smile. 

“ _ Where did he go!?”  _ Finn almost screamed. 

One of the others just pointed out the front door and Finn dashed out into the snow at the same time the other three managed to get into the lobby. It was dark and the streetlights lit up the fallen snow as a few people walked along the street. An aurora danced overhead in the clear sky as Finn felt the cold cut through the clothes they were wearing. They wrapped their arms around themself and considered going back in for their gear they’d left at their chair but then, as they looked around the street, they saw someone in a parka with their head down hurrying around a corner a few buildings up. Finn took off at a run again, trying to keep their footing in the snow, as the others came out behind them and started to follow. 

Finn came around the corner and saw the person as he was going up a small walkway between the buildings and was turning to go onto another street. Finn could see his face. It was the same person. 

“Snow-by!” Finn shouted at them. 

The man froze in place as Finn faced him along the length of the walkway between the buildings. Finn could feel their heart beating fast as their eyes locked. Finn couldn’t feel the cold anymore as emotions clashed in them as they looked at the man who’d left them on a sidewalk when they were five. The other three caught up to Finn as they stood there and Snow-by started to move and Finn shot their arm out as if grasping at something and shouted, “No, wait!” 

Snow-by froze again and then gave a quick look around behind them as Finn started walking towards them. 

“Uh, hey there,” Snow-by said as Finn got closer. “I’m, um, I’m guessing you’re Finn.” 

“You know who I am! You’ve been staring at me in the restaurant!” Finn said. “You knew who I was immediately didn’t you!?” 

Snow-by sighed and looked to the sky for a moment and said, “Guess this had a chance of happening eventually. No, not immediately. Probably only a few minutes before you noticed me looking I guess.” 

A wind blew down the alley and Finn shook in the cold. Izzy stepped up to them, not taking her eyes off of Snow-by, and handed Finn their coat. Finn put it on as they said, “I’d ask why you didn’t come over but I imagine you weren’t looking for a warm reunion.” 

Snow-by looked around and said, “No, it was, um, a bit of a surprise. So… now what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one but I just knew I had to stop it where I did because I'm nothing if not a drama queen. I hope you're enjoying it so far!
> 
> Quick update on the writing: I'm currently at 77.5k and my update schedule is going to be to try and write a chapter, then post a chapter. That way I don't have to worry about running out of story before I reach the end and I can keep a consistent update schedule on this (I'm trying for about once every seven days or so).


	9. From that eternal silence, something more

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Finn has found someone from their past they may be able to find out more. They're no longer faced with the potential of silence forever on the matter but will what gets said be any better?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for the commenters from the last chapter. I couldn't leave you hanging for long.
> 
> Shall we?

Finn stood there as the lights of the aurora flared above them all and thought. They’d had all kinds of daydreams about finally meeting someone from their past but none had been like this. In those scenarios Finn had dreamed about, they’d been powerful and in control. Standing there in the snow, Finn just felt awkward and uncomfortable. 

“Talk with me,” Finn finally said. “Just for a bit.” 

“Can we maybe get out of the cold then?” Snow-by said. “There’s a place around the corner I was going to anyway.”

“What is it?” Izzy asked flatly.

Snow-by face flashed with irritation for a moment before it settled down and said, “It’s a pub.”

“Yeah, that’d be fine,” Finn said. “Does it have a place where we can talk privately?” 

Snow-by nodded and said, “It does. Got a couple of small rooms.” 

Finn gestured and said, “Lead the way.” 

As they walked, Izzy leaned over to whisper to Finn, “Don’t do this, it doesn’t feel right. We can talk to that  _ thing _ in the street or go back to the restaurant.” 

Finn squeezed her hand and said, “It’s alright. If it looks weird, we’ll leave but I want a chance to talk to him alone.” 

Izzy nodded along and then suddenly turned her head again as Finn whispered back, “Yes, alone. Please, just trust me.” 

Finn felt her squeeze back so hard it almost hurt and felt her begin to tremble with something that had nothing to do with the cold as they reached the pub’s door and walked in behind Snow-by. He waved at the bartender and then led the way to a small room with large frosted glass windows around it. As Snow-by went in, Finn turned around to the others and said, “I’ll be right there in that room. If you could just wait here I’ll shout if I need anything.”

Oak said, “Finn, are you sure about this?”

Finn just shrugged and gave Izzy a tight hug before walking through the door, shutting it behind them. Izzy looked at the closed door and only sat down when a few patrons gave her a weird look.

Inside Finn took in the scratched up table and the chairs surrounding it in the small room. A lamp hung over the table, the glass shade done up in multiple colors of blue, illuminating a table with a few dirty glasses and an unlit candle in the center. Snow-by was settling down in a chair against the wall so Finn took a seat across from him, their back to the door. The two sat in silence and looked at each other for a minute before Snow-by spoke.

“Well, I guess I should say I know who adopted you,” Snow-by said. “Should I be expecting to get my teeth kicked in soon?” 

Finn felt their fur bristle in anger but kept it in check as they said, “No. They know I’m up here but it’s not like I knew you were here so they don’t either and I’m not going to do that. I’m not here for vengeance or whatever.”

Snow-by sighed a little in relief and said, “I know Catra was up here years ago looking around. Is that why you’re here?”

Finn nodded and felt their emotions surge a little as they realized they could ask the question. They said, “It is. I’m trying to find my biological parents. Do you… do you know them, Snow-by?” 

He shook his head and said, “I don’t and man, it’s so weird to hear that name after all these years. For some reason you didn’t say my actual name and you always called me Snow-by. My name is actually Snowbee but yeah, back on the whole point, I don’t know your parents. Sorry.” 

Snowbee gave a little shrug with the last bit as Finn felt themself sag a little. They said, “Uh, ok. Snowbee then. Well, what are you doing here? I was just here on a long shot really and running into you was a fluke.”

Snowbee shrugged and said, “I grew up near here and still come by every once in a while. My brother is who the beekeeper thought I was because we looked alike and we’d both been in and out of town a lot. He doesn’t really know me though. As to why now, I got held over because I was going to travel but that storm that went past the other day kept me here. So I stayed a few extra days to see some friends when I found out they were in town as well.”

Finn sat back and looked to the side as they said, “Well, if you don’t know my parents how did you end up, um, watching me?” 

“Some couple from Plumeria was watching you. I hung out with them a lot and they were always fighting and talking about how they... you know, man, I don’t really know how to say this stuff to you. It’s unpleasant,” Snow-by said. 

Finn looked back at him and pulled on every ounce of acting talent they had to say in an easy voice, “It’s fine. I wouldn’t be out doing this if I thought I couldn’t handle hearing it.” 

Snowbee nodded and said, “Well, they said they’d got stuck taking care of you and how much they hated having to take care of you, so one day I decided I’d take care of you. Figured we’d hang out, I’d show you how to do cool stuff, and they didn’t care so off we went. I, um, thought it’d be… fun.”

Snowbee flinched a little at that and Finn was secretly pleased to see that he at least seemed to be ashamed of the statement. 

Snowbee pushed at a leftover coaster on the table, waiting for Finn to say something. When nothing was forthcoming he said, “If you want to talk with them, I know where they are, or at least where they were a few years ago.” 

Finn leaned forward, trying to keep the excitement at the prospect of a lead out of their voice as they said, “I do.”

Snowbee took out a pen and wrote on the coaster and slid it over. 

“There you go,” he said. 

Finn picked it up but couldn’t bring themself to look at it so they shoved it into their pocket. 

“You're not even going to read it?” Snowbee said. 

Finn shook their head and said, “Later. And thank you, I appreciate it.”

“You probably want to know why don’t you,” Snowbee said quietly, pausing for a moment before going on. “Why I left you.”

Finn felt themself war with their emotions. They struggled for a moment and finally said, “I… yeah, I do.” 

Snowbee sat and tapped at the table while he looked down, unable to meet Finn’s eyes. 

“I’ve asked myself that a lot over the years to be honest. Lied to myself that what I was doing was the right thing, that someone would help you, that you didn’t need to be with me and that was the way it should be. And of course I know now, then to if I’m honest with myself, and I try to be these days, that it wasn’t right but it is what it is. Hated myself over it but I got involved in helping people out after that to deal with that. 

“I’ve helped build stuff, did work with clones to help them integrate, stuff like that. Thought about being a Listener but, I don’t know, just never did. I send money down to a community center in Seaworthy a lot. They help people who need help. Maybe there’s not a lot of why there for you but I was just young and stupid so I guess that’s the main why, the answer. I tried to do something right after it though. Try to not screw up again,” Snowbee said.

Finn looked away again and let the silence stretch out. They suddenly felt the urge to just leave. They weren’t sure what they had been expecting but that wasn’t it. They had thought maybe they’d hate him or maybe get some kind of connection and feel some empathy but now, face to face, Finn just felt kind of hollow listening to Snowbee’s little speech. All Finn really cared about at that point was that they had a lead and they couldn't think of anything else that was really worth saying to him. 

“Well, helping out, that’s something I guess,” Finn said wearily. 

They stood up from their chair and Snowbee looked a bit startled at first and then relieved as Finn said, “I’m… just going to let you be and go. Thanks for talking with me.”

“Hey, thanks for being pretty mellow about this,” Snowbee said. “I know it’s been hard to face but you know, I tried to do right afterwards.” 

Finn looked down at him and again felt emotions warring within them. 

“Someone told me once that I can see someone who did me wrong and see that they’ve changed and accept that but that doesn’t mean I ever have to forgive or forget what they did to me,” Finn said flatly, working hard to keep the rising anger out of their voice. “Everything you’ve done after will never outweigh that you left me on a street corner and walked away when I was only five years old. Not to me. I’m glad you’re trying to do good acts now but I want you to understand that I am  _ never  _ going to forgive you for what I went through.” 

As Finn turned to leave Snowbee stood up and said, “Hey! That’s not fair! I told you, I was scared and young and…” 

Finn turned around and slammed their hand on the table causing everything on it to jump. 

“No! No, you don’t get to say that! I don’t care! I WAS FIVE! I! WAS! A! CHILD! YOU BEAT ME AND SCARED ME AND THEN YOU LEFT ME! YOU LEFT A FIVE YEAR OLD ON THE STREETS TO STARVE! YOU THINK I WASN’T YOUNG AND SCARED!? STOP TRYING TO JUSTIFY IT BY WHAT YOU DID AFTERWARDS WHEN IT WAS EASY FOR YOU!” Finn screamed. 

Snowbee stepped back as anger and shame fought on his face as Finn heard the door slam open behind them. They turned to see Izzy standing there with fury writ across her face while Oak and Artho both stood behind her, looking worried and a bit scared.

"Izzy, it's alright," Finn said, trying to keep their voice under control. 

"Hey! Could you get out? This is between  _ us _ ." Snowbee said, anger in his voice. 

Izzy, without hesitation, defiantly stepped forward and stood next to Finn without saying a word. 

Finn could feel their heart racing as they turned to look at Snowbee and said, "Are you serious? There's no  _ us _ . You made that pretty clear on a certain sidewalk a long time ago. You knew who adopted me, you knew about Mother being here looking, and you did nothing that could have helped out. You just hid. You could've come forward, done something really brave, but you didn't. Even tonight I had to chase you down to even get this much out of you. So there’s no us. We’re done here."

As Finn started to walk out, Izzy stood in place keeping an eye on Snowbee as he mockingly said, "Oh your  _ Mother! _ Some mother! Led a whole army wiping out towns! I think I look pretty good compared to  _ her _ !"

Artho and Oak could see a mixture of sadness and contempt on Finn's face as they turned just enough to look at Snowbee. 

"And you know about all of that because she didn't hide. And she is my mother, a great one I’m proud of, because when she found an abandoned child she refused to run," Finn said before turning and walking away.

Izzy backed out and slammed the door as Snowbee started to say something else. Finn went through the pub with their head down with Artho and Oak right behind as Izzy brought up the rear. When Izzy got out the door, Finn was walking down the street with Artho and Oak trailing behind trying to talk to them as Finn just shook their head and walked on. As she caught up she could see Finn shaking. 

"Finn? Hey, Finn. Could you talk to me? Please?" Izzy said as she got in front of them. 

Finn stopped and looked at her with tears freezing in the fur in their face as they kept shaking and Izzy could feel herself on the verge of panic. She didn't know what to say or what to do so she reached out to take Finn’s hand but they pulled away. 

Finn immediately regretted doing so as they saw the hurt look on Izzy’s face but they couldn’t help it as they shook harder in revulsion at the thought of being touched. They kept having images of Snowbee from their childhood replay in their head over and over. Finn was trying to stop it but couldn’t think of how. Izzy was crying now and Finn stumbled over to a snowbank and flopped down onto it with their head in their hands. Izzy stood for a moment before sitting down next to them as Oak and Artho knelt down in front. 

“Hey, Finn, count with me will you?” Artho said, trying to get their attention. 

“Deep breaths, deep breaths, come on, breath, you’re alright, we’re here,” Oak was saying at the same time. 

Izzy could feel the tears freezing and falling off as she cried and was saying, “I’m sorry I burst in! I know you said alone but you were screaming and I got scared!”

“Stop!” Finn finally managed to say. “I can’t! No! Just stop! All of you!” 

They all sat and looked at Finn. Finn had been trying to meditate, had been taking breaths, had been trying to count backwards from ten, had been running over every calming and relaxing technique they could think of, but they couldn’t get their mind to cooperate long enough to run through even one. 

Finn began to wonder if they needed to find a doctor because their heart was pounding so hard and so fast they were sure it would burst. They couldn’t catch their breath and they could feel pain starting to run through their hands. As Finn focused in on the sharp pain they began to realize that they didn’t have anything on their hands in the sub-zero temperatures and blowing wind. 

Finn grabbed onto that focus as they carefully reached into their pockets and pulled out the mittens they’d put there when they’d gone down for dinner. It seemed like a vast chasm of time had passed since then as Finn put the mittens on and felt their hands slowly begin to warm. As they did, the panicky shivering slowly subsided as they focused in tightly on nothing but their hands clenched in front of their eyes. 

After a few more minutes, Finn quietly said, “Help get me to the room, please.”

They all stood and Finn quietly held their hand out to Izzy. They were scared she’d refuse it but she carefully took it, uncertainty in her eyes. Finn leaned into her as they twined their arm through hers and the four went trudging through the snow back to the inn. Back in the room, Finn sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the floor. 

“I’m… I’m sorry about that,” Finn said. “I’m not mad at anyone. I know all of you were just trying to help. It was just, I don’t know, it just was too much. It just kind of hit me all at once.” 

Oak sat down on the opposite bed as Artho held her hands against the sloping ceiling like she was trying to keep her balance on a pitching boat. Izzy sat on the bed next to Finn with her arm still twined through theirs as Oak said, “It’s alright. Just kind of a shock. We have no idea who that guy was and then suddenly you’re sprinting out the door and then the pub and then… well, it was just a shock.” 

“I guess I haven’t told you two a lot about my past. That was the guy who left me in Seaworthy,” Finn said as they started to shake a little again.

Finn placed their head on Izzy’s shoulder and Finn gave a weak smile at her as she squeezed their arm. 

“I’m sorry I pulled away from you,” Finn said.

Izzy shook her head and said, “You don’t have to say that.” 

“Yes, I do. All the way to the end and beyond. Remember?” Finn said.

Izzy nodded and wiped at the tears in her eyes as she said, “All the way to the end and beyond. We really are screwed up aren’t we?” 

Artho said, “Nope. Don’t go there. And I hate to break in here but shouldn’t we be doing something? You said that’s the guy who left you on a street corner as a little kid! Shouldn’t we like, have him taken in or something?” 

Finn had a brief fantasy of contacting Frosta and having her come down and drag him away and then sighed and said, “No. That’s long in the past and really I don’t even want to deal with it right now.”

Artho started to open her mouth to say something when Oak elbowed her and shook her head. 

“Listen, we should all probably talk, I know it’s the thing to do, but can I just be selfish and go to sleep?” Finn said wearily. 

“Sure thing, Finn,” Oak said. 

Izzy hugged them and Finn was soon wrapped up in a blanket on the bed, fast asleep. Izzy sat and watched them sleep when she saw Artho gesturing for her. She looked up and Artho pointed down the spiral stairs. She noticed Oak was gone already as she followed Artho down the staircase and out the door at the bottom into the hallway. Oak was pacing nervously in the hallway when the two came out and said, “Alright, that? That was wild. Izzy, did you know about that guy?” 

Being there without Finn she felt deeply uncomfortable as she felt herself retreating inwards. She had to keep telling herself that the two were friends, that Finn trusted them enough to bring them along. With that in mind she said, “Uh, I did. Not that he was here but it’s why I first looked this town up. His name sounded like a Kingdom of Snows name.” 

Artho threw her hand up and said, “I didn’t even know the guy existed! Finn has never told us about him before. I’m just now realizing that Finn hasn’t told us a whole lot about their past. I just know that they got left in Seaworthy, that Aunt Adora and Aunt Catra found them there, and that’s about it.”

Izzy remembered Finn telling her that she knew probably more than anyone else about their past and she looked down in discomfort as she tried to think about how to say that without making the two upset. 

Oak noticed Izzy looking down and said, “You know don’t you? You know all about it.”

Izzy nodded. 

Artho huffed and said, “Well great! They told you but not us. What crazy thing have they dragged us into, Izzy?” 

Oak looked at her sister and said, “That’s not fair! We volunteered to go along. We could have asked more questions but we didn’t because it didn’t matter. We’re supporting our friend.”

Artho pointed at her sister and said, “No,  _ you _ volunteered to go along. I decided to go along to make sure you didn’t get hurt because  _ you  _ heard adventure and went bouncing along without a care in your head like you always do!” 

“That’s not fair! Besides, who was the one who swore they knew how to fly by instrument and almost got us lost?” Oak said. 

“Who was the one who probably gave me wrong directions to begin with?” Artho shot back as her tail quivered.

“Don’t think that tail frightens me. I’ll knock you down either way,” Oak said. 

“Stop it!” Izzy almost shouted and then looked at the doors to other rooms along the hallway and lowered her voice. “Stop it. Listen, I told Finn about my life and then Finn told me some of this stuff before we even got together. It’s how we connected. I… well, you met my father. That was my life until just recently.” 

Izzy stopped. She didn’t want to go any further. She didn’t want to remember, she didn’t want to spill out her life story, and she certainly didn’t want to have this conversation in a hallway with everyone’s tempers up. Artho and Oak looked a little abashed though. Oak finally spoke up and said, “Shared trauma. I’ve heard Mom say a lot of wartime romances started that way.” 

Izzy blushed a little at the thought of her and Finn’s relationship being described as a romance, although she knew it’s what it was. 

Izzy skipped over that and said, “I don’t know why Finn didn’t tell you but please, don’t be mad at them. It’s not like it’s easy to talk about.”

Artho grunted and said, “I’ll be mad if I want.”

Oak said, “You know Mom would say you’re projecting based on your disquieted inner being and you need a moment to center yourself and maybe a hug. Mom though would just say you need a hug.”

Artho pointed at her and said, “No, Mom would just hug but I’m still mad at you though so don’t you hug me yet.”

Oak looked at Izzy and said, “Could you maybe tell us something about Finn’s past? Like what are we getting into?” 

Izzy sighed as she leaned against the wall and said, “No, that’s their story to tell.” 

Oak started to say something when Artho said, “Seriously? Are you going to argue with her? We’ll just ask Finn ourselves.” 

Oak was nodding as Izzy felt a flash of irritation and said, “No!”

They both looked at her and she calmed down a little and said, “Maybe not immediately. Give it some time.” 

Artho shrugged and said, “Fair. It has been a rough day.” 

Oak sighed as she said, “It has been. Listen, I know it’s early but I’m going to go back up and go to bed myself. We can all talk in the morning after we’ve had some time to rest.” 

Artho said, “Alright. Hopefully no one complains about us shouting in the hall. I swear, we’re going to get on the bad side of every lodging owner in the kingdom at this rate.” 

Oak looked affronted as she said, “That’s not fair! The hostel owner just said we shouldn’t try and hustle. Which we didn’t, so it doesn’t count.” 

Artho just rolled her eyes as she started walking up the spiral staircase again and Izzy followed with Oak bringing up the rear. They all got ready and Izzy shut the lights off after she unzipped her sleeping bag to make a blanket as Finn was wrapped up in all the blankets on the bed. Izzy got in bed behind them and pulled her sleeping bag over her as she put an arm over Finn and was soon asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My wife is what I call my beta listener. It's like a beta reader except instead of her reading my work, I read it out loud to her. For you fic authors out there, I highly recommend it. Talk about immediate feedback. I say that to say this. When I first read this chapter to her and got to the part where Snowbee says to Izzy that she needs to get out she looked at me with a delighted face and went "Ooooooo!" She's a big Izzy fan and was expecting way more mayhem than I gave. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the work!


	10. By this still hearth, among these barren crags

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for questions and decisions for The Team as well as some revelations from the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The next morning, Finn was the first one up. They had slept in their clothes from the night before and they shuffled into the bathroom feeling gross as they tried to unstick their eyes and get cleaned up. They came out in clean clothes, feeling a bit better, as the other three started to wake up themselves. Finn picked their coat off the ground and put their hand in the pocket to make sure that the coaster was still there. They gave a sigh of relief when they felt it and sat back on the edge of the bed as Izzy blinked and yawned. Artho swung her legs off the edge of the bed and was scratching at her head as Oak griped at her to get her tail out of her face. 

Finn looked at them all and said, “I, uh, I heard a bit of what you all said last night.” 

Oak stopped smacking at her sister’s tail as she turned to look at Finn. 

“I’d ask what part but I’m guessing it was the part about us griping about you not saying anything about your past?” Oak said. 

“More like me griping about it,” Artho said abashedly. 

Finn nodded and said, “I get it. I kind of wondered if I should have said something before we left but yeah, you didn’t seem to care.” 

“We didn’t,” Oak said. “Last night was just… well, it was a lot, all at once.” 

Izzy sat up in bed and scooted next to Finn but said nothing. 

“I didn’t listen to the end of the conversation,” Finn said. “I heard you because I got up to take my coat off and I went back to bed. I didn’t want to have to do this then. Izzy, did you tell them anything?” 

Izzy said, “No. I thought that should be up to you.”

Finn sighed and said, “Well, we’re The Team. If you want to know, I’ll tell you. Part of it at least. Some of it I don’t want to talk about.”

Artho and Oak traded looks and then Artho finally spoke up and said, “Last night, I probably would have wanted to know it all but you’re right, we didn’t care. I guess I want to know just kind of a general outline. I’m guessing that person wasn’t a biological parent?” 

“No. Snow-by, well I guess his name is actually Snowbee, is the person who left me in Seaworthy. He said that he basically got me from a couple he knew who had been watching me. They’re not my biological parents either. That was the life I remember before my moms found me and took me in. Bouncing around between people who didn’t care,” Finn said. 

Finn picked up their coat and put their hand in the pocket and pulled out the coaster. 

“He wrote their names on here and the last place he knew they were staying,” Finn said without looking at it. “I haven’t been able to look at it yet.”

Izzy held her hand out and Finn handed it to her.

“Do you not want to know?” Izzy said. 

Finn thought a bit and said, “I do and I don’t. If I do, then it means we go on because there’s no way I’m going to find out and not try. But after last night, I’m not sure if it’s worth it or not. I mean Snow-by, he’s changed, but not really, not in a way that matters.” 

“Mom says that the closure we get isn’t the closure we seek,” Artho said. 

Finn gave a little chuckle and said, “Yeah, she’s said the same to me. In fact, I said pretty much the same thing to Izzy when we first started this and she asked me why.” 

Oak said, “So is it worth it? Knowing you won’t get the closure you’re after?”

Finn held their hand out and wobbled it back and forth and said, “Right now? Maybe.”

Izzy said, “Well hey, either way, you know you’ve gotten further than the original team ever did, right? We actually found someone.” 

Finn looked at her and then suddenly gave a grin and said, “You’re right.”

“It was a fluke,” Artho said. 

“I’ll take it,” Finn said. “Alright, I’m going to be conflicted on this I can tell but let’s just do this. Are the rest of you in?” 

Oak nodded and said, “I swore an oath. It’d be terrible of me to back out now.” 

“I didn’t. I just ditto’d,” Artho said with a sigh. Then she stood and said, “I’ll fix that now. I swear my loyalty on this adventure. I swear that I shall be steadfast and true, no matter what I find out along the way. I swear I’ll be there for us all and I swear it on my name and my honor.”

Oak was tearing up as she got out of bed and hugged Artho. 

“Sacred honor. It’s on your sacred honor,” Oak said to her.

Artho gave her a push and said, “You know I hold nothing sacred.”

Finn laughed and said, “Izzy?”

“What do you think?” Izzy said, giving Finn a look. 

Finn smiled and took the coaster back from Izzy and read it. 

“Alright, Kiwi and Blu are their names. He’s written the name of some town in Dryl I’ve never heard of. Dava?” Finn said looking up. 

The other’s shook their heads and Izzy was scrambling around trying to find something to write on. 

“Do the names mean anything to you?” Oak said. 

Finn said, “Maybe? Does that make sense? Like if you had asked me before who they were I wouldn’t have known but saying them I feel like I’ve heard them before.”

Izzy, who didn’t look up from her writing, said, “ _ The Etherian Psyche  _ by Jolly-tire says that when you’re trying to remember older memories that it’s often helpful to have something to work from that’s related to the memory. They called it a signpost but I like to think of it more as a key. Mainly because it’s easier to throw a key away if you don’t like the memory.” 

“Well it’s not much of a key. I just have a vague feeling that I know the names but come on, it’s the name of a common fruit and a color. It could just be that and I’m trying to put something behind it,” Finn said. 

Artho was leaning against the bedframe and said, “Don’t try and force it. You’re just going to chase it out of your head. Just relax, let it tumble around in your head, and if it's there, it’ll manifest.”

Oak said, “Wow, it’s like Mom is in the room with us!” 

Artho tossed a pillow at her and said, “Well it’s good advice either way!” 

Izzy looked up and said, “We don’t have to address this just yet. What we do have to address is what we do now.”

“What do you mean?” Finn said.

“Well, we had planned to do our thing here, visit Princess Frosta, and then return to Bright Moon,” Izzy said. “That was the plan at least. Are we going to just up and go to Dryl now?” 

Oak said, “She raises a good point. I mean, I’m game either way and let’s be honest, Dryl is way warmer than here.” 

Artho stretched and said, “I’m just starting to get used to it.” 

“Cause your tail is probably frozen solid and you can’t feel it anymore,” Oak said. 

Finn said, “I saw we still go see Auntie Frosta. We need to do the basics, like laundry, and it’d be nice to say hello since we’re close.”

Artho snorted and said, “Close is a relative term up here but yeah, I don’t disagree. Do we leave today or tomorrow?” 

Izzy said, “I saw we leave tomorrow. You still need the newest flight manual and we need to check the weather so we don’t end up in that situation again.”

Artho said, “How about we fly down and get stuck in Serac? That was a pretty nice place as long as Oak can keep her hustlin’ ways to herself.” 

“It’s not a hustle if you turn it against someone who’s hustling you! Besides, you remember that person the day after, we’re revered there!” Oak said. 

Finn laughed and said, “Let’s not toss around the word revered. Let’s just say you’re remembered.” 

“She is pretty unforgettable. Like stubbing your foot,” Artho said as Oak stuck her tongue out at her. “So you’re saying we get ready today, head out in the morning, see Auntie Frosta, and then make any final decision on where we go afterwards.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “Finn may remember some more that will be useful. We may decide to head straight there. Who knows?”

They all agreed and the rest of the day went past at an easy pace as they did the few things they needed to do. Finn wondered what they’d find further down the journey and more than once almost changed their mind about going on. They went to sleep that night with the doubt running around and didn’t sleep well at all but the next morning came quickly and soon The Team were climbing up onto the skiff, bundled up against the anticipated cold of flight. 

Sally stood beside the skiff with Artho as she said, “Alright, so you got the new manual. You checked it for your destination?” 

Artho nodded and said, “I did. Twice. Had someone else check it as well and checked the weather on route.” 

Sally nodded and said, “Good. Keep doing that. In case no one ever told you, you can be old, you can be bold, but you can’t be both.”

Artho nodded and said, “I’m shooting for old.” 

Sally shook her hand and said, “What I want to hear. Safe flight.”

“Thanks,” Artho said as she climbed up on the skiff with everyone else. 

They were soon off and Artho took one last turn above the town before headed towards the castle of the Kingdom of Snows. The flight took most of the day and it got colder and colder as they were soon flying over the eternal snowfields, mountains, and glaciers that the kingdom was known for. The sky was alive with aurora, even in the daylight, and everyone kept stealing glances at it and the rugged landscape below. Not long before nightfall, they came to a landing on a tall point of the castle as several figures came out to greet them. 

“Is that Princess Frosta?” Izzy whispered to Finn as she helped them down. 

“No, I don’t know who that is,” Finn said as they stretched. 

Artho jumped down and said, “We really need to figure out a heater for this thing. I seriously considered zipping myself in my sleeping bag for a while.” 

Oak sat on the edge of the skiff and said, “What happened to, ‘I’m used to it!’ from the other morning?” 

“That was then, this is now,” Artho said. “I can contradict myself.” 

A heavily built woman stepped forward when the small welcome group arrived and said, “Welcome to the Kingdom of Snows. May I ask who you are and what business you have with us?” 

Finn stepped forward and Izzy desperately hoped they weren’t going to try and impersonate someone.

“Thank you! I’m Finn and the rest are Artho, Oak, and Izzy. Princess Frosta is my aunt and we’re dropping in for a visit,” Finn said.

The person nodded and said, “The Princess is busy at the moment but I’m sure she’d love to see you. Can I show you somewhere more comfortable to wait in the meantime?” 

Artho shook her head and said, “Naw, I’d rather hang out on a high point in the freezing wind.” 

The person nodded and said, “If that’s your wish.” 

Oak pushed her sister and said, “Ignore her. She thinks she’s clever. Yes, please lead on.” 

They all went to a room with ice walls and comfortable furniture. They all settled in and were assured that someone would be by to check on them if they needed anything. Izzy walked around and looked at everything and said, “I know why but it’s still a bit amazing that it feels as warm as it does.”

Finn said, “I’ve only been here a few times and I don’t remember it being chilly. Mother was always a bit uncomfortable visiting here.” 

“Because she tried to blow it up once,” Artho said with a snort.

“What!?” Izzy said.

“It was during the war. I don’t know much about it,” Finn said and then nodded at Artho and Oak. “I do know your Mom was involved.” 

“Yeah, I know that too. I don’t know much else though. It’s not like they’re bringing that one up at the monthly hang out and I’m sure not asking,” Artho said. 

Izzy said, “Wait, was this during the All Princess Ball that was held here?”

Artho said, “I think so, yeah.”

Izzy said, “Uh, I may actually know more on this than you do then. I’ve read some stuff on it.” 

The three turned to her and Artho said, “Izzy, please feel free to info dump to your heart's content.” 

“Uh, you do know it ends with them kidnapping Queen Glimmer and King Bow right?” Izzy said a bit nervously. 

“What!? NO!” Oak said with glee.

Finn leaned forward as they said, “Alright, you have to tell this.” 

Izzy shuffled in her chair a little and said, “Alright, it’s pretty straightforward. Princess Frosta was hosting the All Princess Ball that year and The Princess Alliance was trying to get her to join. Princess Scorpia was a Force Captain of the Horde, as was Catra, but as she was a princess she was able to attend and she brought Catra along as her plus one. Adora was attempting to recruit Princess Frosta and when Princess Scorpia and Catra showed up, she tried to denounce them to Princess Frosta. Princess Frosta told Adora she wouldn’t do anything as they hadn’t broken the peace and were acting according to the rules. The All Princess Ball has a pretty long history of rival princesses mingling together and because of the rules nothing more than some intense arguments happen normally. It’s said that Adora kind of overstepped and insulted Princess Frosta a few times although it’s widely believed to be accidental and not malicious.

“The sources say that Adora tried to keep track of Princess Scorpia and Catra all evening, even having a dance with Catra, but it was all a ruse so that Princess Scorpia and Catra could plant explosives and try to bring down the palace. It didn’t really work out because Princess Frosta managed to hold it together but in the resulting chaos, they kidnapped Queen Glimmer and King Bow with the help of some undercover associates. Of course she was still a princess and Bow didn’t have an official title yet at the time. The attack on her castle would lead to Princess Frosta joining The Princess Alliance and because of that she was present at The Battle of Bright Moon to help turn the tide against The Horde offensive.” 

The other three sat and stared for a moment before looking at each other.

“I, uh, I did not know all of that,” Oak said slowly. 

“You’re telling me our Mom and Finn’s Mother went on a date together?” Artho said. 

Oak sputtered and said, “That’s what you’re concentrating on right now?” 

“I already knew Mom was a Force Captain at one point, you’ll pardon me if I concentrate on the more immediate,” Artho said. 

Finn had their face in their hand and said, “You know, I’ve heard Mom and Mother joking a few times about Mother ending up with Aunt Scorpia instead of Mom and I always thought it was just a joke.” 

Izzy was waving her hands in front of herself while she said, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to stir up some old tensions or anything!” 

A voice from the door said, “Oh trust me, it wasn’t much of a date for the two.” 

Finn turned to see Frosta walking in and Izzy jumped up out of her chair as she saw her and Finn stood to put a hand on her shoulder to try and keep her from panicking. 

“It’s alright, Izzy,” Finn said quietly to her. 

“I was just talking about her castle getting blown up,” Izzy said through clenched teeth. 

“Hey, Auntie Frosta,” Finn said. “You could have given us a little hint you were on your way.” 

“Where’s the drama in that?” she said with a grin. “Besides, I got to hear the academic version of that day.” 

“You heard all of that?” Izzy said feeling like the floor was dropping out from under her.

“Yep! Don’t worry, it’s not a sore subject,” Frosta said. “And that’s because I used to tease Catra and Scorpia mercilessly about it for years after the war ended until I got bored with it.” 

“But Mom and Aunt Catra really did go as dates to the ball though?” Artho said. 

Frosta shrugged and said, “Probably. Looking back, that was an interesting evening. Bow went with Perfuma and Glimmer was furious about that, Adora kept chasing Catra around, Entrapta kept flitting around observing everyone, Sea Hawk was annoying Mermista but that wasn’t really new, and I was just busy trying to keep it together and look important for my age. I’m glad the next one that Scorpia ran was way more mellow.”

Artho sat back a bit stunned and Finn said, “I’m just going to mentally file away Artho’s face for future reference. It’s wonderful.” 

“Enough of all that, Finn, introduce me,” Frosta said as she sat down. 

“I assume you mean Izzy,” Finn said. 

“Yes, I mean Izzy. I met these other two when they were only a few hours old and you know I already know you,” Frosta said rolling her eyes. 

Finn kind of gestured at Izzy and said, “Auntie Frosta, this is Izzy, my girlfriend.” 

Frosta rolled her eyes again and said, “Real smooth, Finn. Hey, Izzy. Since I heard you call me Princess like a dozen times a few minutes ago, I’ll just go ahead and say you can call me Frosta.” 

Izzy nodded and didn’t say anything. 

“You can speak to me, Izzy. I don’t bite,” Frosta said. 

“Not what Mother says,” Finn said. 

“I didn’t bite her, I punched her as hard as I could,” Frosta said. “There’s a difference.” 

Izzy blinked and said, “Wait, you punched Catra?” 

Frosta nodded and said, “During the war. Well, near the end but that’s a story for another time. Well, I’m guessing you’re up here because you’re on your search.”

“We are. We just came in from Moraine,” Finn said.

“Well I hope you’re keeping a journal. It could turn into a great story or at least an interesting travel guide,” Frosta said. “The Random Guide to Etheria. I’ll write you a forward.”

Finn laughed and said, “I’ll let you know but yes, Izzy is keeping notes.” 

Frosta turned to Izzy and said, “A writer?” 

Izzy shook her head and then realized she should speak and said, “No, Prin…, uh, I mean, Frosta. I just do a lot of research.” 

“Well, if you can write research, you can probably write stories with a little work,” Frosta said before turning back to Finn. “And just so you know, your moms have been quietly asking if we’d heard about your progress. Do you want me to tell them you were here or not?”

Finn wasn’t really surprised they were asking, they pretty much expected it. However, they were a bit shocked that Frosta was offering that.

“Why wouldn’t you tell them?” Finn asked. 

“Because this is your thing. If you think they’ll interfere where you don’t want them, I’ve got no problem telling them whatever you want me to,” Frosta said. “They’re good friends, don’t get me wrong, but if you want to do it on your own, well, I get wanting to be independent and I’ll back you on it.” 

Oak said, “You’d lie for us?” 

“Well when you put it that way, you make it sound sordid,” Frosta said. “You’re my nieces and nibling and Izzy, you get honorary niece status for putting up with Finn.” 

Izzy took Finn’s hand and said, “They’re worth it.” 

Frosta smiled and said, “I know they are. Seriously though, are you fine with me telling them you were here?”

Finn nodded and said, “I am. I was actually going to give them a video call. I’ve been dropping a message every few days since we left. Mom basically implied she’d level a town looking for me if she didn’t hear from me.” 

Frosta snorted and said, “Yeah, that sounds like Adora. She probably wouldn’t though. Just a building or two.” 

“That’s not a lot of comfort,” Artho said. 

“Wasn’t really trying to give any,” Frosta said. “Alright, so I’m guessing you're dropping in on your Auntie Frosta for a hot meal, a warm bed, and probably some supplies. Am I right?”

“Well now who’s making it sound sordid?” Oak said. “Can’t we just come to see our Auntie Frosta?” 

Frosta laughed and said, “Well of course. And get a hot meal, a warm bed, and some supplies as well.” 

Finn said, “We probably won’t need supplies but I am not turning down the other two.”

“Well come on,” Frosta said. “Let’s get you all settled in. Tern is going to be mad she missed you, she’s out doing some magic research thing and isn’t due back for a week. Eider can join us though. They’ll be thrilled to see you all and meet you Izzy.” 

Frosta led them out and into the castle and Finn walked along beside her holding Izzy’s hand as they said, “How’s the new book coming along?” 

Frosta said, “Have you read the last one yet?” 

Finn laughed and said, “I haven’t but believe it or not, I’ve got it packed along.” 

Frosta gave them a little nudge with her shoulder and said, “I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve been waiting to hear what you think for a while now.” 

“Sorry, Auntie Frosta, I’ll make a point to read it,” Finn said. 

“The new one is coming along fine, to answer your question, but it’s under my pseudonym for that series you won’t read,” Frosta said. 

Finn grinned and said, “Because I don’t want to read romance written by you. That’d just be weird.” 

“It’s not like they’re steamy,” Frosta said. 

“Not going to find out,” Finn said.

Izzy got a little courage up and said, “I’m sorry but what series are you talking about?” 

“Eternally Etheria,” Frosta said. “I write under the name Iceflower.” 

Izzy suddenly blushed and stammered out, “Uh, I’ve, um, read a few of those. They’re… good.” 

Oak spoke up from behind and said, “Wait,  _ you _ wrote those? Oh Mara, I’ve  _ read _ a bunch of those. You could have warned me!” 

Finn turned around to see Oak blushing as well as Frosta gave a grin and said, “You could have talked to your Auntie Frosta more about her work.” 

Finn turned back to Frosta as Artho started poking at her sister and laughing. Finn said, “Judging by everyone’s reactions, I’m pretty glad I’ve avoided them.” 

“It’s not that bad!” Frosta said as they walked into a suite of rooms. “There’s nothing explicit in them! The Elberon Book Club called them sweet!” 

Artho was laughing and said, “I’ve read a few. They’re just super intense with the romance. My sister here is just a sensitive soul.”

Frosta waved her arm around and said, “Here you go. Feel free to settle in. I’m going to go dig Eider out of wherever they’re hiding and I’ll get dinner brought in here later.”

“While you do that, I should probably take this chance to call my moms,” Finn said. 

“Last chance. I can tell them you came through here for just a few minutes babbling about lost treasure before you went tearing off into the frozen countryside like the hounds of Prime were hot on your heels,” Frosta said.

“You just really love the drama don’t you?” Artho said. “And what is that? The opening to the next book?”

“Maybe. And I’m not hearing a no,” Frosta said. 

“No,” Finn said. 

“Your loss. See you in a bit,” Frosta said with a laugh. 

Izzy sat down as she watched her go and said, “She’s… ornery.” 

“Always has been. Mom told me at Glimmer’s coronation she froze Sea Hawk in ice,” Oak said. 

“ _ Why? _ ” Izzy asked. 

“I don’t remember. Something about her being the security? You’d have to ask her,” Oak said. 

“No, I think I’ll let that one go,” Izzy said. 

Finn typed at the data pad and said, “I’m going to give them a call now. You all ready?” 

“Go for it,” Oak said. “We can call Mom and Mom next.”

Finn nodded and hit a button and soon Adora’s face popped up on screen.

“Finn! It’s good to see you! Is everything alright? Do you need help?” Adora said. 

“Mom, everything’s fine,” Finn said as they made sure the rest of The Team could be seen. “See? All in one piece.” 

“Are you at Frosta’s?” Catra said as she stuck her head into the camera’s view. 

“Yep,” Oak said over Finn’s shoulder. “Just got here.” 

“Well you’ve been really brief in the messages. How’s it going?” Adora said.

“Um, it’s been interesting,” Finn said. 

“Yeah, known you for years, kiddo, so I can tell something is up,” Catra said as she got repositioned over Adora’s shoulder. “What happened?” 

Finn scratched at their head a little and Izzy gave them a nudge. 

“Well, remember the guy I told you about? Snow-by?” Finn said. 

“Did you get a lead on him?” Adora said. 

“Uh, no, it was more like I ended up sitting across a table from him and had a conversation with him,” Finn said nervously. 

Finn had expected stunned silence. What they didn’t expect was for both Catra and Adora to shout, “What!?” and then drop the data pad. 

“Are you alright!?” Finn heard Catra shout as she grabbed the pad and Adora shoved her face into the camera view and then Catra yelling, “Look over my shoulder! Like I did to you!” 

“You stuck your head in too! Finn, are you all alright!?” Adora said. 

“Moms, we’re fine!” Finn said. Artho and Oak were behind Finn giving thumbs up and saying the same thing. 

Catra pointed and said, “Izzy, is that guy still in one piece?” 

Izzy nodded and Catra said, “Alright, tell us what happened. Adora! Stop pushing!”

“I’m trying to see!” Adora said. 

“Just turn on wide-angle!” Finn said in exasperation. “That’s how you can see all of us!” 

“That is an option isn’t it?” Adora said as her hand went to the screen and the view jumped as it got wider. 

Finn began to tell them about what had happened, trying to give a short explanation that ended up being longer than intended since Adora and Catra kept jumping in with questions. Artho and Oak kept giving little comments and even Izzy said a thing or two and finally at the end of it all Finn said, “Then the next morning, I finally looked at it. It’s got two names on it and a location.” 

“I notice you’re being real circumspect about saying  _ where _ that location is,” Catra said.

“Alright, I am. Just remember, I said this is on me to do. If I show up and there’s a whole bunch of you milling around, I’ll be perturbed,” Finn said dryly. “It’s a town called Dava in Dryl.” 

“Where? I’ve never heard of it,” Catra said. 

“It’s one of the newer towns that have popped up in Dryl,” Adora said. “I advised the Clone Council of Dryl on getting it laid out when they first started putting it together.” 

“Wait? How new?” Finn said, remembering that the information was a few years old. 

“Maybe five years? Why?” Adora said.

“Because Snow-by said that the information wasn’t that fresh. I didn’t ask but I got the impression he hadn’t seen them in a few years,” Finn said. 

“You think he’s trying to lead you wrong?” Artho said. 

Finn shrugged and said, “We weren’t quite to the me making him mad part of the conversation yet, so probably not.” 

“It won’t hurt to check it out,” Adora said. “If you need maps, I’ve got maps.” 

“Thanks, Mom,” Finn said. 

Catra said, “Well, I have to say I’m proud of you but also, just a bit salty.” 

“Why?” Finn said. 

“Mostly because I wish I could have caught up with him myself,” Catra said. 

“Then we wouldn’t have got any answers out of him!” Oak said. 

“Alright, enough bloodlust out of you,” Adora said as she nudged Catra. “You are alright aren’t you?” 

“It was a bit rough to deal with but I’m surrounded by good people,” Finn said as they hooked an arm around Izzy. 

“Well we’re glad to hear from you,” Adora said. “Give us warning next time and we’ll let Grandma know so she can be here too, Izzy.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “I’ll be calling her in a few.”

“We’re calling Mom and Mom next,” Artho said. “I’m sure they will be mellow and calm.” 

“Yep, if that happens, let me know, it’ll be a first,” Catra said. 

“Are you coming back here before you go on to Dryl?” Adora said. 

“We haven’t decided yet,” Finn said. “We’ll be here at least for the night and we’ll be sure and keep you up on where we’re going.” 

There was a little more small talk and then they broke the connection. Adora and Catra sat back on the couch where they’d talked. Catra wiped at her eyes a little as Adora hugged her close. 

“I can’t believe they found that… that… person,” Catra said. 

Adora said, “I’m surprised Izzy let him leave in one piece.” 

Catra looked at Adora and Adora said, “What? You think I don’t know what contained seething anger looks like?” 

Catra bumped her with her shoulder and said, “No, I don’t think you do, Princess.” 

“Oh, we’re jumping right to Princess are we? Do I need to remind you that by marrying me…,” Adora started to say before Catra put her hand over Adora’s mouth.

“Nope. Don’t finish that,” Catra said. 

Adora licked Catra’s hand and Catra yanked back going, “What!?  _ Why _ !?” 

“Because,” Adora said with a smirk. 

“Well, I’ll get my revenge,” Catra said. 

“Oh, we’re to the revenge swearing part of the evening already?” Adora said. “Swear vengeance while I go and throw something in the oven for dinner.”

Back at the Kingdom of Snows, Artho and Oak sat and talked with their moms. Finn and Izzy sat behind them and chimed in every once in a while. It took a while to get through the call as they brought each of Artho and Oak’s siblings on to say hello and of course some had questions and wanted to hear about what they were up to and at the end, Scorpia held the data pad out at arm’s length and above her so everyone could wave goodbye. Artho and Oak cut transmission and sat back with little sighs. 

“You alright?” Oak asked Artho.

“Just a bit homesick now,” Artho said. “It was good to see everyone. Little P-Pear has really shot up and we’ve only been gone a week!” 

Finn said, “I’m a bit surprised you didn’t ask your Mom about dating Mother.” 

Artho whipped her head around and said, “I had forgotten about that actually!”

“Well I remind you when you call them again,” Finn said with a grin.

“Ugh, now I’m not homesick anymore. Now I’m just trying to forget about that,” Artho said. 

“You’re welcome,” Finn said. 

In a portable pavilion near the Heart Blossom, Perfuma leaned her head against Scorpia’s shoulder and sighed as the gathered kids scattered back out to play in the twilight.

“You alright there, Blossom?” Scorpia said. 

Perfuma hugged Scorpia’s arm and said, “I am. Our little Acorn and Doodle Bug are all grown up. You’d think I’d be used to it. It’s not our first to go. It’s the way of the universe that the young go out into the world. To fight that cycle will just stunt the growth of the person but…”

Scorpia gave her a hug and said, “I know. I miss them too. They’re not gone though. We’ll see them again.” 

Perfuma idly wrapped a flowering vine up Scorpia’s arm and behind her neck and back down the other arm as she said with a sigh, “I know, Love Bug. It just can’t come soon enough.” 

In the meantime, Izzy was picking up the data pad and called Grandma. The others saw and crowded around her shoulder, giving her a bit of a wide eyed look when Grandma came on the screen. 

“Uh, hello, Grandma,” Izzy said. 

“Hey, Grandma!” the other three said. 

“Hello, Izzy!” Grandma said. “And it looks like I got some extra grandchildren all of a sudden.” 

“It’s how it happens with us,” Finn said. “You get pulled in without even realizing it.” 

“Well, I’m happy to have it happen,” Grandma said. “How is the adventure going along?” 

Izzy gave her a short explanation of it, the others tossing in a few details, and she was nodding along and then Izzy started asking how she was doing and she started talking about outings she had made and various little things. After a while she mentioned that she was making dinner for June that night and was expecting her soon. 

“Well, keep your head warm, honey,” Grandma said to Izzy. “I love your hair but there’s not much of it left to keep the cold off.”

“I will, Grandma. That scarf you got me is perfect for it,” Izzy said. 

“Good to hear. Alright, I’m going to go now. I love you, Izzy, and I love the rest of you as well. Take care,” Grandma said waving at them all. 

“I love you too, Grandma,” Izzy said and then closed the connection. She sat and looked at the data pad for a moment. 

“If you’d told me even a year ago I’d be missing Grandma this much…,” Izzy said as she trailed off.

Finn hugged her and said, “Well if you’d told me a year ago everything that’s happened I’d be surprised as well. I’m sorry I took you away from her just when you two started really mending your relationship.” 

Izzy hugged them back and said, “You haven’t done anything. I came along willingly.”

Back in her kitchen, Grandma gave a couple of pots a stir and she heard her front door open. 

“Nicoleta, I’m here!” a voice said.

“In the kitchen!” Grandma said back. 

June came in, hanging her coat off a chair at the table and stretched. Her overalls were stained but she gave Grandma a hug without a second thought and Grandma returned it without hesitation. 

“You hanging in there?” June said. 

“I am. Izzy just called,” Grandma said as she leaned back against the counter. “She looked so grown up.” 

June sat down at the table and said, “I’ll be honest, I’m surprised she’s out doing this. She’s so quiet and withdrawn normally. I was honestly worried when she got with this Finn kid. They’re so outgoing, I was worried she’d get squashed down. She seems to like them though and she does seem pretty happy.”

“She certainly is,” Grandma said with a melancholy smile. Then she shook her head a little and said, “Alright, enough of that. You brought the cards I assume?” 

June pulled the deck out of her chest pocket and held them up. 

“Have I ever forgot them?” June replied as she spread the deck out one handed as Grandma brought the food to the table. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not remember how long this chapter was when I started going through editing it. I think the first twelve or thirteen chapters were chopped up all at once over a month ago when I decided to do this in chapters instead of all at once so I get little surprises like this when I come back to get it ready to post. I hope you're enjoying this!


	11. The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team have reached The Kingdom of Snows castle and have settled back to enjoy Frosta's hospitality and plan their next step. Izzy, however, has other things on her mind than the journey they're all on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Finn packed away the data pad. Everyone had gone quiet and were mostly just sitting and thinking. It was into this silent room that Eider walked. They stood for a moment, looking at everyone and Finn looked up as they noticed they were there. It was hard to miss them. They stood well over six feet and were built like a wall. 

“Well, I expected a bit more of an upbeat room,” Eider said, they’re voice soft and quiet. Finn went over and gave them a hug.

“I think all the travel hit us at once, Auncle Eider,” Finn said. “We also just called our various elders.”

Artho, who was lying back on a couch, said, “I’m absolutely telling Aunt Catra you called her an elder.” 

“You think I’m not going to tell her myself?” Finn said. 

Eider grinned and said, “See, that. That was more what I was expecting.”

Eider moved into the room to take a seat and said, “Frosta will be along in a bit. I got done with my stuff early so I came on in. Since I know these two, who can’t even get up to greet their Auncle, I’m going to assume this is Izzy.”

Izzy nodded as Finn sat down next to her and said, “The one and only.”

Izzy gave a little wave and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Oak spoke up and said, “I’ll ignore the dig at me not getting up. It’s your fault for installing furniture that’s too comfortable in here. I do want to say thanks for the mandolin again though.” 

Eider pointed a finger and said, “That furniture is just as comfortable as it needs to be and you’re welcome. As to the mandolin it wasn’t a big deal and honestly, I feel kind of bad. I built it as practice before I made one for a client.” 

“Not complaining,” Oak said. “Free mandolin!” 

“Are you coming along any on it?” Eider said. 

“I’m doing alright. I haven’t practiced in a bit since we’ve been getting ready for this and I didn’t pack it along to save space,” Oak said.

Artho said, “I need to say that I’m a little miffed at you because do you have any idea how annoying it is to listen to her practice over and over? We’ve been staying at the Fright Zone. The echoes off the walls are deafening.” 

Eider got a mischievous look and said, “What a shame you left it behind. Why, it’d be just terrible if we all met after dinner and I just happened to have a spare one for you to practice on. You should never neglect your practice.”

Artho looked at them and said, “Auncle, what did I ever do to you to deserve this?” 

“I don’t have my list but I’m sure I can try to remember a few if you’d like,” Eider said. 

Izzy was getting used to the back and forth and just sighed as she leaned back. Frosta came in shortly after pushing a cart piled high with food. Everyone served themselves and settled back down. The conversation was pretty easy going as they got caught up with each other. Izzy was quiet at first but Eider made sure to direct a few direct questions to her and she was soon joined in the conversation feeling fairly comfortable. After everyone had ate, Eider left and came back with several instruments, including the promised mandolin. 

“If we’re going to do this, at least give me the hand drum,” Artho said with a sigh. 

Eider passed it over and Frosta picked up a guitar and gave it a few strums. 

“Alright, Izzy, you’re new so here’s the rules for our little music circle,” Frosta said. “If you can play an instrument, grab one. Eider makes a bunch so if you don’t see one just say. If you don’t want to play, you do have to sing. If you don’t know the words, try your best. No one cares if you’re professional quality, it’s just for fun. You set?”

Izzy gave a short nod. Oak plucked at the mandolin a little and Artho gave a few practice strikes on the drum. Eider picked up a flute, the instrument small in their large hands, and said, “Alright, enough tuning. Let’s go.” 

Artho started it off with a quick beat and Eider came in on the flute followed by Oak and Frosta. Izzy recognized the tune, some folk tune out of Plumeria, and Finn started singing along with Frosta. Izzy hesitated for a moment but Finn gave her an encouraging smile and she was soon singing along with them. She trailed off after the first two verses as she realized that they were going to sing the full song, that had way more verses than just the first few that most people knew, but Frosta and Finn seemed to know all of them. Izzy kept up the best she could though and at the end, Artho gave a little drum flourish as they finished the song. 

“Tern’s going to be _really_ perturbed she missed this,” Frosta said. “That’s one of her favorite songs.” 

Eider stretched a little and said, “Her loss. She’s the one out studying magic.”

“Enough chatting,” Artho said. “I’m warmed up. What’s the next one?” 

“New guest’s choice,” Eider said. “Izzy? You got anything?” 

Izzy froze for a second and then said, “Uh, I’m not much of a music person. I don’t know a lot.” 

“Name one you do know,” Eider said. 

Izzy blushed furiously because she couldn’t get the song out of her head at the moment, being in Frosta’s castle, and said, “It’s A Princess World.” 

Frosta laughed and said, “I’m game. I assume you mean the new version?” 

Izzy nodded and Artho gave a roll of the drum and everyone got into it. The song had a verse about various princesses and the old version had been ugly and insulting to each princess but the new one, re-written by Bow and Catra years before, was much more light hearted and friendly while still having a teasing edge to it. When it came to the verse about the princess of The Kingdom of Snows, Frosta held her hand up to stop the singing and rolled into it as a solo, belting out the verse at the top of her lungs. At the end of the song, Frosta was laughing so hard she couldn’t really sing and the rest burst into laughter as the song wrapped up. 

Finn wiped at their eyes as tears of laughter rolled out of their eyes and said, “That was great. I always forget about that song but it’s so much fun to sing.” 

Eider grinned as they said, “Well, I should stand in defense of my partner but let’s be honest, that verse is dead on.” 

Frosta was stretched out and said with a grin, “All I know is that I’ve never put anyone into a block of ice who didn’t deserve it but the song can say whatever it wants.” 

“That’s very comforting, Auntie Frosta,” Finn said. 

“They didn’t call me Winters Bane for nothing back in the day,” Frosta said loftily. 

“Iceflower, no one called you that,” Eider said. “Frosta was probably terrifying enough.”

Frosta grinned and said, “You bet it was. Enough of that, let’s get the next song rolling.” 

They played late into the evening and finished up with a long slow ballad that Eider stood and sang. Their voice carried, hitting high notes sharp and clear, as they sang the ballad of two people falling in love during a long trek over treacherous sea ice. The song ended with the two lovers embracing as they reach solid land and swearing to remain together. However, Eider sang a slightly different version, one with three people in it and Frosta smiled, a bit sadly, as she thought of Tern.

Frosta leaned back after it was over and said, “We really need to re-write it into a three-part song like we keep saying we’re going to do.” 

Eider sat down on the arm of the chair she was in and sat their hand on her shoulder as they said, “Let’s do it when Tern gets back.” 

“Then let’s actually do it,” Frosta said before looking to the group and said, “Sorry, ever since our wedding we’ve been saying we need to do this. Anyway, I’m going to go ahead and say good night now. I’m going to come by early. I have some time blocked out in the morning that’s normally for writing but we can use it to figure out what you need from me to keep going.”

Eider looked at her in surprise and said, “I’m sorry, did I just hear you say you’re giving up your morning time? For real?” 

Frosta looked up at them and said, “Seemed the best time.” 

Artho laughed and said, “I’ve heard of this mythical morning time. I for one am honored.”

Eider snorted and said, “You should be. She doesn’t even let Tern or I intrude on it. Imagine, her own spouses.”

Frosta rolled her eyes and said, “You’re more than welcome to, I’ve just said you need a good reason. And before you say anything, the last time you bothered me it was because you and Tern were arguing over which kind of chocolate was superior and wanted to drag me into it.” 

“That _was_ important, you just didn’t realize it. We weren’t arguing, we were trying to decide what chocolate to get you for your birthday,” Eider said. 

Finn said, “How about we all go to bed now since you’ve said you’re coming early and it’s already late enough to almost _be_ early. You two can continue your argument on the way to your room?” 

Oak nodded and said, “It’s a good idea. We’re on an adventure after all and rest is important.” 

Frosta said, “Are you really shuffling me out of a room in my own castle?” 

“Yes,” Finn and Oak said at the same time.

Frosta burst out laughing and said, “Alright. I’ll see you all early. Sleep tight.” 

As everyone got settled in for the night, Izzy stood in the bathroom in her pajamas and stared at her horns. She hadn’t noticed until now that they looked like they were starting to curve so she ran her hand down the ridges of them to check and sure enough, they were starting to curve. They were growing out. She felt a momentary surge of panic as she thought about them curving back along her head and she fought it back down. She’d kept her horns filed down for years and it wasn’t until recently that she’d ever considered growing them out. They reminded her of her father and she shook a little as she tried to shove the thought of him out of her head. 

She then realized that her mother, a term she hated using to describe her, and Izzy knew that her mother had entered a therapeutic program after her father had tried to attack her and Finn months before. That program was somewhere in The Kingdom of Snows. She stood at the counter as she shook thinking of those two and tears ran down her cheeks before she slammed her hand down onto the countertop. Pain shot up her arm through her hand and she turned from the mirror and shook her arm to get the sting out. Then, a knock at the door. 

“Iz? You alright in there?” Finn said from the other side of the door. 

“I’m alright,” Izzy said, wiping furiously at her eyes. “I’ll be out in a moment.” 

Finn stood on the other side of the door, worried and waiting. Izzy hadn’t sounded alright and the thump had startled Finn as they’d sat and written out a few ideas of what to do in the coming days. Izzy came out of the bathroom and Finn looked at her and saw that her eyes were red. 

“Iz? Are you ok? You look like you’ve been crying,” Finn said as they carefully put a hand on her arm. 

Izzy almost said nothing. She wanted to just go to bed but it’s not like Finn didn’t already know about the problems she’d had. 

“I was looking at my horns,” Izzy said. “They’re… they’re getting long.”

“Well, isn’t that what you wanted?” Finn said. 

Izzy shrugged and said, “It is, but I got to thinking about…”

Finn nodded. They knew. 

“Him,” Finn said. 

Izzy nodded and said, “And her.” 

“Tell me what you’re thinking?” Finn said. 

“I don’t know. I got to thinking about him. Then I thought about here and realized that Emma is here in the kingdom and I could probably see her if I wanted to do so. It... kind of got on top of me,” Izzy said. 

Finn sat for a moment and then said, “Do you want to see her?” 

Izzy sat down on the edge of the bed and ran her hand down her sleeping bag. It was thick and would keep someone warm and comfortable far below zero degrees celsius and keep them alive even lower than that. She’d borrowed the bag from Adora and she thought about how Adora had sat and told her little tricks for how to use it in all kinds of weather and temperatures. It’d been a simple thing, not even a motherly thing, but in that moment sitting on the edge of the bed, she felt like Adora had shown more care and compassion to her than Emma, her actual mother, had ever shown towards Izzy. 

“Yes,” Izzy said with a heavy sigh.

Finn sat down next to her and said, “I know it’s going to sound weird coming from me considering why we’re here but are you sure this is something you want to do?” 

“Right now, yes,” Izzy said. 

“Do you want me along when you see Emma?” Finn said.

Izzy thought for a moment and said, “No. It’s my turn to go into a room alone with someone from my past.” 

Finn smiled and took her hand and said, “And mine to wait outside and worry.” 

Izzy frowned and said, “And you should. I’m honestly a little worried about how I’m going to react when I see her.”

Finn looked into her eyes and said, “Iz, you’re not your dad.” 

Izzy blinked as tears came and Finn squeezed her hand and said, “I’m serious. You’re not your dad. No matter how long those horns get, you’re not him.” 

Izzy said, “You can’t know that.” 

“Yes, I can,” Finn said. “You think I could love someone like him?” 

Izzy looked at Finn and said, “What?” 

“I said do you think I could love someone like him. Because you know I love you Izzy and I could never love someone like him,” Finn said. “That’s how I know you’re not like him.” 

Izzy snorted as she wiped at her tears and said, “The logic in that is so flawed.” 

“No it isn’t. It’s simple. I love you. I couldn’t love someone like him. Therefore, you’re not like him. Queed,” Finn said with a nod. 

“Queed?” Izzy said in confusion.

“Yeah, you know. Like you see at the end of a logical argument,” Finn said. 

Izzy started laughing and said, “Do you mean QED?” 

“Yeah, queed,” Finn said. 

Izzy hugged Finn and said, “I know you know how it’s said so that only means you did that on purpose.” 

“I just wanted to see if you’d laugh,” Finn said. “I wanted to cheer you up.” 

Izzy kissed Finn and said, “It worked. I love you.” 

“I love you too,” Finn said. “Let’s get some sleep now alright? We can talk to Frosta about this in the morning if you want.” 

Izzy nodded as she got up and shut the lights off. They settled down in their sleeping bags as Izzy curled up behind Finn. As Finn drifted off to sleep, Izzy stared ahead into the darkness as the doubt came creeping back in. She may not have been like her father but she knew what she felt. She could feel the anger and the fear in her and while she’d read and knew this was a normal thing, no amount of reading would get out of her mind the fear that one day she’d become like him without even realizing it. 

Izzy didn’t remember falling asleep but the next morning came very early with someone pounding on the bedroom door. Finn sat up, their fur every which way, and said, “I heard you the first time, Auntie Frosta! Stop! We’ll be right out!” 

“Well hurry up! It’s not easy to keep breakfast warm in a freaking ice castle!” Frosta said from the other side of the door. 

Finn got up grumbling and soon all four of them were out in the main part of the rooms. Frosta and Eider had breakfast waiting and contrary to her word, the food was piping hot. They sat and ate and chatted and Finn started talking about the ideas they’d been thinking about the night before.

“Auntie Frosta, if you’re alright with us being around for a few days, I thought we can call Cowrie and have her pick us up south of here on the coastline and take us further down so we’re closer to Dryl. That’ll give us some time to plan out the next move. If that’s alright with you two,” Finn said, nodding at Artho and Oak.

They both shrugged, busy eating and Frosta nodded and said, “It’ll be rough because we have so little room for visitors in this little hovel but I think we can manage.”

Finn was also trying to think of how to get her by herself with Izzy so they could ask the other question they had, the real reason Finn had for staying behind for more than just a day or so. They already knew that Cowrie wasn’t that far away and could be there but Finn intended to tell her to take her time. Then Izzy spoke up. 

“Frosta, I’d like to speak with Emma while I’m here,” she said. “Can you arrange that?” 

Finn looked at Izzy a bit surprised and she looked at them as she said, “There’s no reason to keep this a secret. Between her and I, I’m not the one who should be ashamed.” 

Frost shrugged and said, “I’ll speak with her Listener about it. He’s the one helping her and he’s the one who would be able to say whether or not it’s a good idea. I don’t think it’d be any issue though.” 

Oak leaned forward and said, “Izzy, what do you need from us?” 

Izzy gave a small smile at Oak and said, “Right now, some more toast. I don’t know about later.” 

After breakfast, Izzy went back into the bedroom and started reading a book. Finn followed along and sat on the edge of the bed while she read at a little table. After a few minutes, Finn said, “Iz, do you need to talk about this? You’re… you’re kind of not taking this in an Izzy kind of way.” 

Izzy stopped and looked up at Finn and said, “You mean I’m too calm when it comes to my parents.”

Finn flinched but that was exactly what they’d meant. They said, “I guess, yeah, that’s what I meant. You never mentioned this before now and I know you said it came up suddenly last night. Did you ever think about it while we were planning?” 

Izzy said, “Not really. It crossed my mind a few times but it wasn’t something I was really considering until last night. Maybe that’s why I’m so calm about it now. I haven’t had time to overthink it yet.” 

“Yet?” Finn said with an amused tone in their voice. 

“I could have a break down over it soon. I definitely feel that in the back of my head as a possibility,” Izzy said, matter-of-factly.

Finn’s face got serious again and said, “Can I help? What are you expecting from me?” 

Izzy said, “To not try and second guess my emotions and just to be there for me right up until I walk into the room with her. Afterwards, the same.” 

Finn said, “Are you going to want to talk to him when we get back to Bright Moon?” 

Izzy’s face got angry for a moment before becoming calm again and she said, “No.”

Finn started to ask if she was sure and she cut them off and said, “I know what you’re going to say and yes, I’m sure, Finn.” 

Finn nodded and said, “Alright. Can I ask you why her though?” 

Izzy fidgeted a bit and said, “I don’t know why her. She can’t take away what she’s already given me and there’s nothing she has now that I want. Maybe it’s like you told me about your search, it’s not about the closure I want because I know I won’t get it. It’s just about getting some kind of closure.”

There was a gentle knock on the door and Finn opened it up and Oak and Artho were standing there.

“Hey, you mind if we come in?” Oak said. 

Izzy waved them on into the room. 

“We’re not interfering or anything are we?” Oak said. 

“No,” Izzy said. “We’re just talking about Emma.” 

“That’s your mother right?” Oak said. 

Izzy’s face went hard as she said, “Technically. Just call her Emma.” 

Oak nodded. Artho chimed in and said, “Listen, the two of us were talking and it’s obvious that we kind of jumped into this whole thing without really understanding what we were getting into. We’re not here to back out but we are here to find out if there’s something we can be doing.”

Finn said, “Like what?” 

“Well, it’s obvious that Izzy is about to have a rough patch and let’s be honest, she’s the brains of this group. She’s kind of keeping the schedule and everything so until she’s ready to go, we figured we’d offer to help again and we remembered something Mom told us. Don’t just offer to do whatever, offer something specific. So is there something we can do, like get Cowrie arranged or go over the plan or run interference with the elders while you get ready for this?” Artho said. 

Izzy said, “You don’t have to do anything for me. Really.”

Artho leaned back against the wall and said, “Izzy, I’m going to be blunt.”

“Are you ever anything else?” Oak said. 

“Yes, sometimes I’m outspoken and occasionally crude but right now I’m going to say, Izzy, I haven’t known you long but I can tell you don’t like being the center of attention. Well, guess what? You are now, at least for us. That’s not a bad thing because at least it’s not Finn this time,” Artho said while Finn gave a mock outraged shout at them. “In other words, you have friends. Lean on us.” 

Izzy sat and stared at the floor as Oak gave Artho a push and said, “Did you break her? You better not have broken her.” 

Finn knelt down in front of Izzy and could see her eyes wide and tears glistening in them. 

“Iz?” Finn said. 

Izzy whispered something that Finn struggled to hear.

“I couldn’t hear you, Iz,” Finn said quietly. “Could you repeat yourself please?”

Izzy spoke again, still in a whisper, and said, “I don’t want this to be a big deal. It’s just me.” 

Finn was about to say that it was a big deal, that it was something important for her, when Artho spoke up and said, “It’s not a big deal.”

Oak and Finn both looked sharply at Artho and she shrugged and said, “What? It’s not. Sure, it’s just you, Izzy, but hey, guess what? That’s what makes it not a big deal to us. Because it’s for you. You know, our friend. And if you haven’t noticed, sitting in an ice castle on a planet spanning quest for Finn, we do things for our friends, no matter how big they might seem to others, as if they were no big deal.” 

Izzy looked up at Artho and said, “You shouldn’t have to though.” 

“I don’t have to _do_ anything,” Artho said. “Again, friends. It’s what we do.” 

Izzy sighed and said, “I don’t need anything.” 

“Well, I don’t believe you but I’ll leave you alone about it. The offer still stands and that’s because we’re friends. That’s us, Izzy. We’re your friends. You better get used to it,” Artho replied. 

“Did you just threaten her with your friendship?” Finn said a bit incredulously. 

“It’s not a threat, it’s a promise,” Artho said. 

Izzy covered her face with both hands and gave another sigh before she looked back at them all and said, “Thank you. I think of you as my friends as well.” 

“The Team!” Oak said with a smile. 

Izzy picked up her book again, feeling a bit calmer, as she said, “Listen, I’m going to go back to reading this. I’d never intended to call Cowrie so one of you can do that. Just let me know how soon she can get up here and I’ll figure out when we need to be there.”

Finn raised their hand and said, “I’m going to volunteer Artho for that one.” 

“Why me?” Artho said.

“You’re the one with the great speech about friends and helping. I just figured you’d want something to do,” Finn said. 

“True, I am a pretty awesome friend,” Artho said. 

“Humble, sweet, gentle? Is there anything she isn’t? I mean except for all of those things of course,” Oak said. 

“Going to smack you is what I am right now,” Artho said as she stood to leave. 

“That’s an action not a thing,” Oak said. 

Artho smacked Oak with her tail and said, “There. I showed you what I am.” 

Finn said, “Alright, out of here. Go wreck your own room if you’re going to fight.” 

Artho backed out of the room batting at the little swats that Oak was aiming at her and said, “Remember, Izzy! Friends!” 

Oak didn’t turn around but said, “At least she didn’t say sister! That’s a huge threat from her!”

Finn shut the door as they heard the two really start smacking at each other. Izzy was back into her book and Finn walked behind her and gave her a kiss on the back of her head that she acknowledged with a little smile as Finn sank back on the bed and pulled out a book of their own. The two read quietly for a while with the occasional thud or argument from the outer room that quieted down. 

A little while later, they heard the two start arguing again and a few more thuds followed by what sounded like the two banging into furniture. Then they heard a tinkling sound like ice and suddenly Oak shouting loud enough to be heard through the door, “Sweet Mara! Watch where you’re slinging that!” 

“I will when you two stop knocking the furniture around!” they both heard Frosta shout. 

Izzy and Finn both looked at each other, got up, and went outside. Artho and Oak sat on either side of a wall of waist high ice and Frosta stood by the front door with her hand outstretched. 

“If you two want to duke it out, do it out in the hallway so everyone can see, the furniture doesn’t get messed up, and we can all enjoy the entertainment,” Frosta said.

She saw Finn and Izzy enter the room. She looked at Izzy and said, “Izzy, are you ready to go see Emma now or do you need to put it off?” 

Izzy got a panicked look on her face. 

“Wait? What? Now? _Right now!?_ ” she managed to stammer out. 

Frosta shook her head as she sat down on the arm of a chair and said, “No, it doesn’t have to be now but I went out after breakfast and talked with her Listener. His name is Beluga. Beluga says that he’s fine with it but he wants to be present for the meeting. The meeting can take place any time you choose or not at all. No one’s told her anything yet and she won’t be told if you decide against the whole thing. Do you need time to decide?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izzy realizing Emma was in The Kingdom of Snows, and she could talk to her if she wanted, came up for her the same time it did for me. I didn't even think about it when I was writing the earlier chapters but I like to think my subconscious slid that in for me as a little Easter egg to find later. If you're interested in a bit more about her and the relationship with her family, you can read my story House Party in this series. I hope you're enjoying the story so far!


	12. Little remains but every hour is saved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izzy has a decision to make. Will it be worth it? Is it too far gone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Izzy’s hands shook a little as she thought about what Frosta had said. She could go and see Emma right then and there if she wanted. She could face her down but what would she say? Was there a point? 

“Finn?” Izzy said as she looked at them. Finn looked worried as they stepped forward to her. 

“I’m here, Iz,” Finn said as they took her hand.

She squeezed their hand tight and said, “All the way?” 

Finn nodded at her and placed their forehead against hers and said, “All the way.” 

She placed her other hand on the back of Finn’s head and held tight to the fur there for a moment as she took several deep breaths before saying, “Let’s do this now.” 

Finn could hear the quaver in her voice and could see the fear in her eyes but kept quiet. She’d asked to not have her wishes second guessed and they weren’t going to do it now. Artho and Oak stood quietly and shifted from foot to foot as they tried to think of something to say. Frosta got off the arm of the chair she’d settled onto and said, “Ripping the bandage off, I get it. Let me step out and I’ll contact Beluga and be right back.” 

Frosta walked out of the room and the ice wall she’d created between Artho and Oak went away as she did. The two came over to Izzy and Finn as Izzy pulled her head away to look at them. 

“Will… will you all walk with me when I go please?” Izzy said. 

“Without hesitation,” Oak said. “And we’ll all be outside waiting when you come back out, no matter how long it takes.”

Artho just nodded and Izzy took a deep shuddering breath and gave a weak smile.

“That may be only a few minutes depending on how this goes,” Izzy said. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Finn said.

Frosta stuck her head in and said, “Alright, it’s set up. She’s working in a greenhouse this morning. It’ll take place in there. You ready?” 

Izzy looked at Frosta and took a long, deep breath before letting it all out at once and giving a quick nod. They gathered together and went walking through the halls, going lower and lower in the castle until they were walking down a wide well-lit cement hallway with large retractable doors in one wall with numbers painted on them. Beside each door was a regular sized door with the same number painted on it. 

Frosta stopped beside one and in a tone that was all business said, “These are the greenhouses. Here’s what’s to expect. She’s in there with some other workers and Beluga. I’ll go in and let Beluga know we’re here and he’ll let her know what’s going on and clear the other workers out. Now, she has the right to say she doesn’t want to see you. Are you ready for that if she does?” 

Izzy looked a little surprised at that and said, “I hadn’t thought of it.” 

“It’s a possibility. She’s here for help, not retribution. If she decides she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t have to, we won’t make her,” Frosta said. “If she does, Beluga will be there but won’t be saying anything unless asked. You can have as long as you need. Are you ready?” 

Izzy nodded again, feeling tightness in her chest as Finn hugged her around her shoulder. 

“Ok, just a moment then,” Frosta said as she stepped through one of the regular sized doors. 

Izzy stood and stared at the door. She turned to Oak and Artho and said, “Can… can I get a hug from everyone?” 

They stepped in and hugged her close as she closed her eyes and was surrounded by them all. Soon they all heard the door open again and they all looked to see Frosta come out followed by a wall of a man. He was bald with a large purple handlebar mustache, wearing shorts and a t-shirt that showed off the many colorful tattoos on his dark skin. He gave a soft smile to them all and then looked at Izzy and said, “Izzy, I’m Beluga. Emma has said she’ll see you. Frosta has told me that she’s given you details on how this is going to go but do you have any questions?” 

Izzy stood and felt her mind go blank and just shook her head. 

“Alright, I’m going to sit back from you both and let you talk but if either of you needs me you just need to ask,” Beluga said. “Are you ready?” 

Izzy suddenly pulled the three in close to her for a final hug and then let go after giving Finn a quick kiss. 

“I am,” she said, her voice steady. 

She walked across the corridor to stand beside Beluga and Frosta and the closed door. She gave one last look at Finn, Artho, and Oak and they waved at her as Beluga opened the door and Izzy stepped through with him. 

Frosta came to stand beside the three as the door shut. She gave a quick hand gesture and a large chair of ice appeared next to her that she settled down into. 

“You three need chairs?” she said as she leaned back with a sigh. 

“Not if they’re a block of ice,” Artho said with a snort. 

“I can get you some actual chairs, goofball,” Frosta said. 

“Auntie Frosta, you don’t have to stay with us,” Finn said. 

“Really? I don’t? Well then I guess I’ll just run off to right here and stay,” Frosta said. “You think I’m just going to leave you all alone waiting this out?”

“I meant I don’t want to take you away from your duties,” Finn said. 

“You’re not. Shucked ‘em off on Eider for the day. Great thing about getting married as a princess is that your spouses get a title and responsibilities and you can make them do the work too,” Frosta said with a grin. 

Finn gave a thin smile and sat down with their back against the wall. Artho and Oak settled in next to them and Frosta said, “Seriously, I can get chairs.”

“It’s all a part of the adventure, Auntie,” Oak said. 

“Pffft, I can tell you as a seasoned adventurer, you should take your comfort where you can find it,” Frosta said.

“You’re sitting on a block of ice shaped like a chair,” Artho said. 

“And I’m wearing a thick parka and snow pants,” Frosta said. “And I’m the ice princess. It’s my thing.” 

As Finn listened to the three cheerfully argue back and forth, they sat with their head on their knees and stared at the door and wondered how Izzy was doing. 

When she’d walked through the door, Izzy wasn’t expecting to see a room full of gardening tools and bags of additives stacked to the ceiling. No one was in sight and Beluga pointed at a coat rack on the wall. 

“This is just a storage room,” he said, seeing her face. “But it’s incredibly humid and warm inside there, especially when compared to the rest of the castle. I’d hang up your coat at least.”

Izzy hung up her coat and scarf, pausing for a moment with her hand on the scarf as she remembered when Grandma had handed it to her the day after she’d told her about the trip. She turned to Beluga, standing next to a door, and he looked at her and said, “Alright, it’s going to be just a minute longer while people clear out. You doing alright?” 

Izzy stood silently and wavered her hand in the air in front of her. 

“I understand. This kind of thing is never easy but it can sometimes be worthwhile,” Beluga said. 

Izzy looked him in the eye and said, “But not always is what you mean.” 

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Beluga said. “As long as you’re not expecting some magical moment I think you’ll be alright. That’s not the kind of magic we do around here.” 

There was a double knock at the door and Beluga said, “Alright. That’s the last person out. Here we go.” 

Izzy squared up her shoulders and straightened her spine and without realizing it her face became neutral, the same face she had when she was deep into sparring with Catra. Beluga looked at her and opened the door and the two stepped through into the greenhouse. There were racks of plants rising fifteen feet over the floor above a trench full of water that teemed with fish that ran in long rows. The air was hot and humid and full of the smell of growing things and fish, a huge change from the dry cold air she’d gotten used to over the days they’d been in the kingdom. For a moment she forgot why she was there and just looked around in wonder. 

“Aquaculture?” she said as she saw the pipes hauling the water up from the fish tanks below the racks to be deposited at the top of the racks so it could filter back down. 

“Yep. We grow flies in the back to help feed the fish. It’s fairly self-contained,” Beluga said. 

She looked around and then remembered why she was here and her face slipped back into neutral. Beluga saw the shift and said, “Follow me. We’re headed this way.”

They began walking down the aisle and a way down they came upon another aisle crossing that one. Beluga turned the corner and stopped. Izzy came around the corner and saw a small gazebo covered in vines a few rows down. 

Beluga leaned over and in a quiet voice said, “She’s in there. Go ahead. I’ll follow and stop at the last rack.”

Izzy stood rooted to the spot and ran her hand over her buzzed hair, trying to tuck a strand of hair back in a nervous gesture she’d done for years before she’d cut her hair. She could see Emma’s seated outline through the vines and she felt herself starting to shake a little as she walked forward. 

As she walked she remembered Catra telling her, “Half of an encounter is attitude.” 

They’d been standing in the backyard in one of their training sessions and Catra had been lecturing on how to avoid a physical encounter. 

“Stand tall, walk with calm and confidence,” she’d said. “You might not feel it, you might be scared out of your wits, but if you can at least try to project it, you’ll at least be thinking about something that isn’t just how terrified you are and hopefully you’ll project that calm and confidence you’re not feeling enough so that no one will bother you.” 

As Izzy made the last few steps towards the gazebo she tried to follow Catra’s instruction. She took a long deep breath, made her face as still as possible, stood upright, and took a few long strides into the center of the space. She turned to see Emma sitting there looking at her. She held a handkerchief in her lap that had been holding her long orange and yellow hair back while she worked and she wore coveralls tied around her waist with a simple t-shirt. Work gloves sat on the bench beside her. 

Izzy shook her head a little and blinked in confusion. Emma had always dressed in high fashion and had tried to get Izzy to do the same and to see her sitting there dressed so simply was throwing Izzy for a loop. She wondered just what she should say, wondering who should break the silence first, and she was about to walk right back out without saying anything when Emma finally said something. 

“Uh… hello, Nicoleta,” she said as she stood up from the bench.

Izzy’s face went still again except for a glint of anger in her eyes and she said, “You know my name is Izzy. If you’re not going to even respect that, we’re already done.” 

Emma said, “Yes, of course, I apologize. Hello, Izzy.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “Hello, Emma.” 

Emma flinched a little and Izzy waited to see if she’d correct her and ask to be called Mom or Mother but she didn’t and they both stood for a second before Emma said, “It was a bit of a surprise to hear you wanted to see me. Almost as big a surprise as your hair. I’m not sure how I feel about that.” 

She said the last bit with a bit of a smile, trying to make it a joke, just trying to connect in some way. All Izzy heard was the criticism she’d always received from Emma about her looks and snapped back at her, “Really? You’re going to go at my hair? I love my hair. My partner does as well so you can skip the part where you tell me I won’t find someone if I don’t change it.” 

Emma sat back down and said, “I was just trying to… partner?” 

“Well don’t,” Izzy said as she took a step back. “And yes. Partner.” 

Emma nodded and looked down. 

“Would you tell me about them?” Emma said quietly. 

Izzy felt herself tangled up inside and wanted to sit down on the bench beside her and tell her about Finn but the longer she waited the more she found she didn't want to talk about them with her. 

“No,” she said. 

Emma looked up and Izzy felt a moment of regret when she saw the hurt look on her face. 

“Can I at least ask if they’re good to you?” Emma said. 

“They’re wonderful to me,” Izzy said. “Now stop asking about them or I’m walking out.” 

Emma nodded and sighed and said, “You’re mad at me.”

“Oh, you noticed, did you!?” Izzy shouted. 

Emma looked up at her with a bit of an affronted look and said, “Why did you come here if you’re just going to shout at me? I agreed to see you because I thought we would be able to talk. I’d even like to see Grandma when we’re done if she’d come in. If you’re just going to shout, well, I don’t know. I don’t think I want to put up with that.” 

Izzy felt her shoulders stiffen as she said, “Why did I come here!? I’ll tell you why I’m here! I’m not here with Grandma. I didn’t come here to see you. I’m here in the kingdom on other business. I decided on a whim this morning. Asked Frosta, ‘Hey, before I leave, I think I’ll drop in on her.’ You’re just an afterthought.” 

Emma looked at her and Izzy felt a bit of a sick triumph at the hurt she saw in her eyes. 

“What? Hurts to be called an afterthought? Don’t like that? Welcome to how I felt my whole life with you,” Izzy said. 

Emma stood up and said, “You know that was not my intention and I did not raise you to act like this!” 

“It doesn’t matter what your intention was because your actions were sure different then what you’re supposed intentions were,” Izzy said as she felt the anger flowing. “And you didn’t raise me to do anything except shut up and not bother you!” 

“How dare you say that! I tried to get you ready for the world! I tried to get you out of your little obsessions and books so you could handle the real world! I made mistakes but I tried and I’m still trying!” Emma said. 

“Was that why you let me get beat!? Is that why you both did your best to grind me down? To tell me I’d never be anything, do anything, amount to anything!? Telling me what I know happened wasn’t true!? Then you’d tell people I was a liar if I said anything!” Izzy said as she felt memories flying through her head. “And of course, nothing I did was good enough for you! Nothing I was interested in mattered! The few times I’d make a friend you’d disapprove for some reason and I wasn’t allowed to see them again! All you wanted was a prop for your life and when it was finally too hard I went to live with Grandma!” 

“I tried, Nicoleta…,” Emma started to say and when she saw the anger flare hotter on Izzy’s face she quickly said, “I mean Izzy! I tried, I really did! You don’t understand how hard it is to raise a child!” 

Izzy almost spat at her as she pointed and said, “Get over yourself! I know two women with a whole herd of children! I’m friends with two of them and they’re great people. They love their moms and their moms love them and all their other children and they work hard to show them they’re loved. Don’t you dare tell me it was difficult with just one!”

“Don’t you try and judge me and compare me to others! It was hard!” Emma said. 

Izzy thought of the story Finn had told her, of their moms sitting on a doorstep all night as they watched over an alley, desperate to protect a lost child, and she started laughing in derision. 

“Yeah, tell me how hard it’s been! Tell me how rough you had it,” Izzy said. “Oh Mara, no! You missed out on some social event because I needed something! You had to stay home because I was sick and you missed out on some party! You didn’t get to do your every little whim because your daughter needed you! Well now’s your chance! Cry! Cry your eyes out to me of how hard you had it!” 

Emma crossed her arms as her chin quivered and she said, “When did you get to be so cruel?”

Izzy stepped forward and spat out, “I’m not cruel. I’m honest.” 

“You’re just like your father is what you are,” Emma said with a little sound of triumph in her voice. “A bully.” 

Izzy went still as she felt anger flare in her, searing hot, and for a split second all she could see was a strike she’d learned from Catra. She began to shape her hand into the hard edge required, she could see the simple movement to execute the move. Then Izzy thought of what Catra would say if she struck someone just because she was angry at them and felt the anger sizzle away to be replaced with a bone deep tiredness.

“They told me about how he went to a house you’d been at and how he attacked you and you hit him,” Emma said, not seeing the look on Izzy’s face. “Is this what really happened? You goaded him until he lost his temper and you had an excuse to hit him?” 

Izzy turned her back on Emma and took a few steps to the other side of the gazebo and stared at the flowering vines. 

“I’m right aren’t I?” Emma said. 

Izzy almost didn’t answer. She almost walked out without another word. Instead, without turning around, she said with a weary voice, “You’re not. But you never cared what I had to say. Why bother to start now?” 

Izzy stood and waited to hear what she’d say next, not turning around to look at her. The silence stretched out long enough she began to wonder if Emma had quietly left. She turned around and saw Emma was sitting down again and tears were running down her face. Izzy sighed and sat down on the bench across the gazebo from her. 

“You really did just come in here to berate me didn’t you? Do you hate me that much?” Emma said without looking up.

“No, I didn’t come in here to berate you. I really am in the Kingdom of Snows for something else,” Izzy said. “Maybe I should have said what I said differently but I’m not going to apologize for it.” 

“Do you hate me?” Emma said. 

“Yes, I do,” Izzy said. 

Emma looked up in pained surprise. 

“What? You asked,” Izzy said. “What did you expect?”

“Not that,” Emma said as she hung her head again. “I guess I hoped for… well, not that.” 

“You should understand that right now, this is it. This is the last time you’re going to see me as far as I’m concerned. I think I came here to see what there was and I think I’m starting to realize that I don’t have a mother or a father. I just have two people I share some genetics with,” Izzy said as she reached up and touched her horns without thinking about it.

“Beluga told me when we first started the rehabilitation that you might not want to see me again,” Emma said, not meeting Izzy’s eyes. “I said I accepted that but I always thought maybe…” 

“That maybe I’d just forgive years of abuse and neglect because you decided to do some gardening?” Izzy said. 

Emma started to say something and then stopped. Then she said, “I was going to say that’s not fair because that’s not even a small part of the whole program and from where I sit I’m different. You don’t see it though, do you?” 

“No,” Izzy said. 

“What can I do? I want to make this better, I don’t want… I don’t want to let go,” Emma said. 

Izzy almost said she didn’t care but then stopped herself. 

“I’m not sure. Probably nothing because it’s probably too little too late by years,” Izzy said and saw her flinch again. “But if you want to talk to me so much, then tell me about the program.”

“What?” Emma said. 

“I want to hear about the program,” Izzy said. “I’ve been reading a lot on Listener techniques and training so that I can help myself with what you and Bryce did to me. Tell me about what you're doing.” 

“You always were bookish. That’s not a criticism!” Emma said quickly when she saw Izzy’s face harden. “Ok, uh, well, there’s a lot of mediation. I’m keeping a journal of my thoughts and I discuss them with Beluga and try to reflect on them. He tries to get me to see bad patterns and how to break them if we can or at least see them coming. There’s a lot of coping techniques and stuff like that we discuss and try. We’ve been working on reframing lately. The um, gardening as you put it isn’t really much of the therapy. It’s just something to do between sessions.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “The gardening actually is part of it, you just don’t know it.” 

“What?” Emma said.

Izzy debated with herself for a moment but finally said, “It’s not just something to do between sessions. It’s an older technique from when the Listeners first got started. You could do anything between sessions, even just sit in your room, but that doesn’t help. Ideally you want something to get your mind and body focused on something that isn’t the mental work you’ve been doing. Physical labor is useful if the person being treated is capable of doing it. But it should never be just pointless physical labor. It needs to be something that helps people. It makes someone feel useful and a part of something important. If they’re not able to physically do this kind of work, then some other meaningful task should be found that preferably works both body and mind in some way and again, helps someone out.” 

Emma sat back and slowly nodded. 

“That makes sense. Kind of clever,” Emma said. “I do feel like I’m doing something helpful, growing food and all, even if it’s rough on my skin.” 

Izzy shrugged. She’d really just been scratching an itch that she’d wondered about and she felt calmer after the info dump. They both sat in silence again but not one that felt as tense. 

“I divorced Bryce,” Emma said out of nowhere.

Izzy looked at her but didn’t respond. 

“That’s one of the things I meant when I said I felt different. It’s something I’m not sure I could have done before,” Emma said. “Have you seen him?”

“No, and I won’t. He can have my silence for any questions he might have,” Izzy said. 

“Then why me?” Emma asked after a pause. 

Izzy couldn’t give any answer that would make any kind of sense so she just shrugged. 

Emma looked thoughtful and then said, “Would it matter if I said I’m sorry?” 

“Would you even mean it?” Izzy said. “Do you even know what you’re apologizing for or are you just going to say it because you think you should and you hope I’ll hang around if you do?” 

“I would have said yes, that I mean it, earlier but thinking on how we just went at each other and how I acted, maybe I’m not as far along as I thought,” Emma said. “I think I should say it, I know I feel sorry but maybe… maybe that’s not the same. So maybe I don’t know why and I shouldn’t say it just to say it.”

“That’s possibly the first time you’ve ever said something like that to me,” Izzy said as she stood up. “I’m going to leave now.”

Emma jumped to her feet and Izzy held her hand up and said, “Stop. I’m still not sure if this is the last time or not but considering I was firmly on the last time side just a few minutes ago, take my indecision as a good sign for you. If it’s not the last time, then this is how it will be. You will be in my life on my terms, not yours. Do you understand me?” 

Emma had her arms crossed in front of her, hugging herself tight, as she nodded. Izzy stepped to the center of the gazebo and said, “Before I go, is there anything you want to say?”

“I hope I see you again,” Emma said. 

“Maybe,” Izzy said. “If I decide to, you’ll know.”

Izzy walked past Emma without looking at her and stepped out of the gazebo as Beluga stood up from where he’d been sitting. Izzy took a few more steps and then stopped. She turned around and saw Emma watching her. 

“Their name is Finn,” Izzy said.

“Your partner?” Emma said and Izzy nodded at her. “And they do treat you well?” 

Izzy nodded again.

“You deserve it,” Emma said. 

“I know I do,” Izzy said and then turned around again and started walking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right after I posted my last update my wife and I both contracted COVID. It's been terrifying to deal with but we're slowly on the mend. I partly say this to say I'm still pretty tired.so this didn't get the same level of detail drafting I normally give. When I'm feeling better I'm sure I'll go over it and correct it but I wanted those who've been reading this to get an update. 
> 
> I'll say I rewrote this several times when I first put it down and I even did a small change a day or so ago. I hope you're enjoying this!


	13. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn waits outside a closed door for Izzy, hoping that she will be able to find what she seeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Finn sat on the ground and waited. In their head they were blocking out actor’s movements across a stage for a play to keep themself occupied but had to keep starting over as their worry drew them away. Artho and Oak chatted with Frosta but Finn couldn’t bring themself to be seriously involved with the conversation. Their tail kept flicking back and forth and Artho had moved over a bit pretty quickly after Izzy had gone through the door to keep out of the restless tips way. 

“Listen, I’m not saying it’s not an interesting story,” Frosta said. “I’m just saying Reuben is a boring character.” 

“Reuben is the central character!” Oak said. 

Frosta snorted and said, “No, Reuben is the main protagonist. The central character is Sizzlar and I know you’re going to say that he’s the villain but he’s really not. He’s just Reuben’s antagonist. The real villain is…”

“Oh, I swear if you say Tow I’ll scream. I’ll just absolutely scream right here,” Oak said. “Test me.”

Artho said, “She will. I’ve had this conversation with her over and over. She’s not going to listen to reason on this one.”

“Reason! Ha! From someone who says Clod-ia is a sympathetic character, that’s rich!” Oak said. 

Frosta looked at Artho and said, “Wait? Seriously?” 

“She’s misunderstood!” Artho said. “Finn! You agree with me, right?” 

Finn was deep in thought as they couldn’t quite figure out how to make a crossover work the way they wanted. It was for a dramatic speech during the ending sword fight of the play and they had zoned out as they stared at the door as their mind switched between the blocking and wondering how Izzy was doing. 

“Hello? Finn?” Artho said. 

“Huh?” Finn said, looking over at her.

“Didn’t hear me at all did you?” Artho said. 

“No,” Finn said, looking back at the door. “Sorry.” 

“Want me to go and check on her?” Frosta offered. 

Finn sighed and stood up off the floor and stretched.

“Thanks, but no,” Finn said. 

“You’re calmer then she was when you went into that room back in Moraine,” Oak said. 

“Yeah, I thought she was going to burn a hole through the door just by staring,” Artho said. 

“I probably owe her an apology. At least I know this is way more controlled than that was,” Finn said. 

“That wasn’t the brightest move you’ve ever made Finn. It’s right up there with almost blowing up your fire pit,” Frosta said. 

Finn gave a flicker of a smile but went back to staring at the door. Frosta looked at them and waited to see if they’d give any other response but nothing happened. Artho and Oak looked at each other and then Frosta but she just shrugged and they went back to their argument/discussion while each taking a quick look at Finn without trying to be obvious. 

When the door finally opened, Finn was on their feet so fast they almost knocked Artho over. Izzy stepped out, shut the door, and leaned back into it with her eyes closed. She heard Finn coming and held her arms out in front of her as they came in and the two hugged each other tight. 

Izzy felt tears start to run down her face as the facade she’d held tight since she walked away from Emma starting to fall apart. She pulled back a little and hid her face in her hands as she cried. Finn pulled her close as the other three came up behind them. Finn heard the tinkle of ice and looked up briefly to see that Frosta had built an ice wall around them all to give them privacy from anyone who might pass in the corridor. 

The other three came around and put their hands on Izzy’s back and shoulders as she cried. There were no heaving sobs, there were almost no sounds except for the occasional snuffling. Finn rested their forehead on hers and whispered to her, “It’s alright. It’s over.”

Izzy shook her head but said nothing. After a few minutes she pulled her hands away from her face and saw Finn’s eyes, full of concern, staring into hers. 

“What do you need from me?” Finn asked quietly.

That’s when the heavy sobbing came. 

Several hours later, Finn watched as Izzy, wrapped up in her sleeping bag, slept after having cried herself out. She’d managed to get out, “I saw her. It was weird,” before going back to crying as they got her back to the room. 

Finn had stayed beside her in the dim room as she slept, a hand on her shoulder, and Oak had stuck her head in the door and waved to get Finn’s attention. When Finn looked up, Oak gestured at them to come outside. Finn looked down at Izzy for a moment and then pulled up the edge of the sleeping bag a little before carefully standing up and stepping outside the door into the outer room. 

“What’s up?” Finn said quietly. 

Oak pointed at the table where a basket full of fresh vegetables sat with Artho rummaging around in it. 

“That,” Oak said. “Beluga brought it by about fifteen minutes ago, said Emma sent it, and wanted to know how Izzy was doing.” 

Finn felt their fur ruffle a little and said, “What’d you tell him?” 

“Nothing. I don’t know him, I’m sure he’s fine at his job, but she’s one of The Team. We don’t know what happened and I’m not saying a word until she says it’s fine,” Oak said. 

“Why’d you take the basket then?” Finn said.

Artho sat back on the couch as she tossed cherry tomatoes into her mouth and said, “That was me. I’m not turning down good produce. Mom would have my head if I did.” 

“There’s not some note with it is there?” Finn said. 

Artho shook her head and said, “Nope. Went through it all. Nothing.”

Oak rolled her eyes and said, “She went through it all because she was grazing but she’s not wrong.” 

Finn said, “Tuck it in your room and try not to eat the whole dang thing. I’ll ask her if she’s alright with it.” 

Artho nodded and hopped up to take the basket out of the room. Oak said, “Is she alright?” 

“She’s sleeping pretty good,” Finn said, trying not to glance back through the open door behind them. “I guess we’ll know when she gets up.” 

“I can see in your eyes that it’s killing you to not be in there with her. Go on. Artho and I got this. I swear that no one’s getting in to bother her unless we’re dead,” Oak said. 

Finn gave a grin and said, “You don’t have to go that far but thank you.” 

“Hey, too late, oath already sworn,” Oak said, giving Finn a hug. Finn hugged her back and then stepped back into the room where Izzy slumbered on. 

It wasn’t long after that Izzy woke up. She wiped at the dried drool down the side of her face and at the junk in her eyes as she looked around the dim room and saw Finn sitting unmoving in a chair. She jumped for a moment and Finn got a scared look on their face. 

“I didn’t mean to startle you!” Finn said. 

Izzy gave Finn a small smile and said, “It’s alright. You just… you just kind of staring off into space was not what I was expecting.” 

Finn sat down on the edge of the bed beside her and said, “Do you feel better?” 

She nodded and said, “I do. I needed that because that whole thing was just, uh, weird. Uncomfortable. I don’t know how to put it.” 

“You don’t have to right now,” Finn said. “I’m just happy you’re feeling better. Can I ask you something that relates to it?” 

Izzy sat up and leaned against the wall the bed was against. 

“Maybe,” Izzy said. “What’s it about?” 

“Ummm, I don’t know how to say it without just saying it?” Finn said nervously. 

Izzy sighed and said, “Alright, go ahead.”

“Well, Beluga came by asking how you were. Oak gave him nothing but he also brought a basket of veggies,” Finn said. 

Izzy gave Finn a weird look and said, “Well, thanks for asking but why is that a big deal? He’s a Listener. Probably just following through on the whole thing.” 

Finn tried to think of what to say when Izzy figured it out and her face went flat. 

“Wait, you said basket of veggies,” Izzy said. “They’re… they’re from her aren’t they?” 

Finn just nodded and watched Izzy as her face stayed flat and she didn’t even seem to breathe. 

“There’s not a note or anything,” Finn said. “It’s just a basket of veggies.” 

“Finn, it’s never just a basket of veggies with her,” Izzy said. “It’s…”

Then she trailed off. Finn waited to see what she would say when she looked at Finn and said, “You promise there’s no note? You didn’t hide it or anything just to try and spare me?” 

“I haven’t even touched the basket; I’ve been in here almost the whole time. Artho’s the one who accepted it and frankly it was so she could snack on it. She said she’s been through the whole thing and there was no note,” Finn said. 

Izzy let out a breath and said, “I told Emma it was probably the last time I’d ever see her and that I would contact her if I changed my mind. This… this is really driving me towards the forget about her column. Am I overreacting?”

Finn waffled their hand in the air and said, “I wouldn’t say overreacting. I’d say you have legit feelings to be suspicious but it is just a basket of veggies.”

Izzy sat and thought and finally said, “Alright, so Beluga brought it. That means she talked to him about it and he thought it would be alright. Of course, he doesn’t know me but it wasn’t her trying to just come walking in. I don’t want to see it though.” 

Finn nodded and said, “I don’t think Artho is going to mind. She was throwing veggies into her mouth like she’d never ate before. I’m sure she’ll be happy to eat the whole thing without you ever seeing it.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “Do you want to know about what happened?”

Finn said, “Only if you want to tell me.” 

“Alright, get Artho and Oak in here. I don’t want to keep secrets from them,” Izzy said.

Finn hollered for them to come in and Izzy jumped a little at the noise. 

“Sorry, I should have thought…, yeah, I should not…,” Finn said. 

Izzy gave a little smile and said, “It’s alright but yeah, maybe not so much on the loud noises.” 

“Are you sure you want those two in here then?” Finn said as the aforementioned two came through the door and Finn went to sit down next to Izzy. 

“What? What did I miss?” Artho said. 

“Izzy said she wants to cut down on loud noises and I said maybe having you two in here, you in particular, is a bad idea,” Finn said. 

As Artho leaned against a wall she said, “For Izzy, I can be quiet.”

Oak sat down and said, “You couldn’t be quiet even if it meant it would keep Prime himself from coming back.” 

Finn held up their hand and said, “This is what I meant.” 

Izzy gave a small grin and said, “It’s alright. Just no shouting. I’ve had enough of that today. I wanted to tell you all about what happened.”

“You don’t have to,” Oak said. “You can tell us later.” 

Izzy said, “No, you and Artho are my friends too. You deserve to have my trust.” 

Artho nodded and Oak wiped quickly at her eyes as she smiled. Izzy said, “Uh, there’s not a lot I want to say. We didn’t really talk so much as I screamed at her for a little bit and she seemed like the same old person she’s always been except…” 

Izzy sat there, looking at the floor, and made a few noises as she tried to think of what she was trying to articulate. 

“I don’t know. I was all ready to just be done with it and then, well, she said she wanted to say she was sorry. Which, big whoop, she’s said that plenty of times. It just becomes background noise after a while. So I asked her if she even knew what she was saying sorry for.” Izzy frowned as she looked up. “She said she felt sorry but maybe she really didn’t know why and she shouldn’t say it. And she didn’t.” 

She looked over at Finn as they placed a hand on her hand. 

“I’m sorry she didn’t at least apologize to you,” Finn said. 

Izzy shook her head and said, “You’re not getting it. She’s never had a problem apologizing because to her it means nothing. It’s just something she does to get the other person to shut up. The fact she even stopped to think about it is something and that she didn’t say it? I don’t know. I’m wondering if it’s just some new tactic, that’s she’s just got more clever, or if she really is changing.”

Artho said, “What scares you more?” 

Izzy looked at her and said, “What do you mean?” 

“Which idea scares you more? It’s something Mom says to us when we’re trying to decide something,” Artho said. 

Izzy started to say something and then stopped. She shook her head and finally said, “That she’s changing. How screwed up is that?” 

“It isn’t. It’s a change of what you’re used to,” Artho said. “That’s hard to deal with.” 

Finn nodded and said, “Makes sense. That’s a very Aunt Perfuma thing to say. Really get you thinking about something.” 

Oak laughed and said, “Wrong Mom, Finn. Mom says it to us because she said it was what she realized when she left the Horde. She was more scared of staying there, in what was familiar, then she was of switching sides. She turned it into something to help her think about stuff.”

Izzy nodded and said, “If you’re scared, why are you scared. I like it and I think you’re right. If she’s just the same old Emma, I can dismiss her. If she’s not…”

Finn said, “You know you don’t have to ever deal with her. You have no obligation to her, even if she changes.” 

“I know but, um, I kind of want to and I really don’t like that and I don’t know what to do,” Izzy said. 

Artho said, “Then put it off.” 

Oak looked at her with a raised eyebrow and Artho said, “What? I’m serious. That’s a perfectly valid response. Why do you need to make the decision right here and now? You gonna march down there and hash out a relationship?”

Izzy said, “No, probably not.” 

“Then put it off,” Artho said. “Get your rest where you can. Sure, you need to deal with it, but you’ve already spent most of the day dealing with it. Maybe deal with something else for a while.” 

Oak nodded and said, “To grab that as a segue, we talked with Cowrie earlier. She said she’s not too far and is going to start making for the port nearest us. Said she’ll be there in a day, another day to give her crew time for shore leave and to top of stores, and then she’ll be ready to leave the day after.”

Izzy looked towards her satchel and Finn reached over and silently handed it to her. A little smile went across her face as she pulled out her notes and flipped through to the schedule and spent a few minutes writing in details. She looked back up and said, “That will give us enough time to give the skiff a check over. I don’t think we’ve even dented the food we’ve brought along, although we should check to make sure it’s handled the cold, and we should give a quick check over all the other gear we haven’t touched.” 

Artho said with a grin, “You seem to be back to normal.”

Finn gave her a side arm hug as Izzy said, “Not even close but this is nice and grounding for me. Let’s talk about our next move. Do we go straight to Dryl and on to Dava or do we stop by Bright Moon? Or something else?” 

Artho said, “Makes no difference to me.”

Oak said, “I vote Dryl.”

Finn nodded and said, “I’m on the Dryl side as well and that spares me having to listen to Cowrie complain about the harbor at Bright Moon.”

Izzy nodded, glad to have a plan and something to do, and said, “Dryl it is then.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I got this one up sooner because it's short but also because I figured it wouldn't hurt to get back on track a little. I hope you enjoy it!


	14. I am become a name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team gets ready to leave the Kingdom of Snows and in the moment, Izzy makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The next few days went by quickly. Finn sent a message out to let everyone know they would be going straight to Dryl and Dava instead of heading back to Bright Moon. Finn waited for some kind of argument but none had come. 

Artho gave a once over of the skiff and everyone checked all the gear but it was something that was just to fill time. Nothing was damaged or out of place and they spent most of the time chatting and relaxing. Finn switched between relaxed and nervous, with no rhyme or reason, as it got closer for them to leave. On the last night, after another session of singing with Eider and Frosta, Finn was already lying down when Izzy came out of the bathroom. 

“You know, we should do that in the theater,” Izzy said as she leaned against the doorframe.

“Do what?” Finn replied.

“Have an open singing night. Just get a lot of people up on stage and play instruments and sing,” Izzy said. 

Finn grinned at her and said, “You know there’s not going to be a lot of backstage stuff for something like that.” 

“That’s alright. Maybe I’ll sing,” Izzy said as she tucked hair that didn’t exist behind her ear.

Finn blinked and said, “I’m sorry? Did I just hear you offer to do something that’s not stagecraft work?”

Izzy gave a small grin and said, “I’ll do it from backstage.”

Finn laughed and said, “Is this the Izzy I know? Did some magic come along and replace her?”

Izzy said, “I’m feeling, I don’t know, hopeful? I may change my mind about the singing but I’ve had fun with it and I think everyone in the group would have fun too.”

Finn smiled and said, “Certainly would be less gripes about who got what parts, although, let’s be honest. We’re theater folk. We can always gripe over who gets to choose the music.” 

“Already thought of that. Everyone puts in a song and we have the audience draw them out of a hat,” Izzy said. 

“Oooo, a bit of improv added in. I like it!” Finn said. 

“Well, I am the brains of the operation as Artho would put it. No reason I can’t apply it to the theater as well,” Izzy said.

Finn grinned and said, “Izzy, you’re the brains there too. You think we could do half the plays we do without you running your crew behind the scenes?” 

“Stop. My crew is more clever than I am. I’m just good at the big picture,” Izzy said.

“Says the woman who’s been offered a commission by the Queen of Bright Moon,” Finn said casually. 

Izzy blushed and said, “Don’t remind me! I still can’t believe she’s even made that offer! And she still hasn’t made it official so maybe she just thinks it’s terrible and she’s trying to let me down easy.” 

“Pfffftttt, you do great work! There’s no way that’s going to happen,” Finn said. 

Izzy shook her head and said, “Well I’m glad one of us is confident about it.” 

Izzy turned the light out and they both settled down to go to sleep. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes and finally said, “Finn?”

“Huhmmm?” Finn muttered, half-asleep already. 

“I’m, uh, I’m going to keep in contact with Emma,” Izzy said quietly. 

She heard Finn roll over and though she couldn’t see anything, they could and she knew they were looking at her in the dim light from under the door.

“You think it’s a bad idea?” Izzy said. 

“No, I’m just worried about you,” Finn said. 

Izzy said, “I sent Beluga a message this evening. I’m going to talk to him first thing in the morning about it.” 

Finn said, “What are you thinking?” 

“She can write me and we can talk that way. On paper,” Izzy said. “That way I can have, unchanging, what she says. It’ll be easier too. I won’t have to see or hear her.” 

Finn put a hand on her arm and said, “You sure?” 

Izzy shrugged and said, “Not really. Maybe I’m just stupid and I can’t let this go because I’m too messed up to let go like I should.” 

“Don’t call yourself stupid, Iz,” Finn said quietly. “You’re not.”

Izzy sighed and said, “It kind of feels that way.”

“I’m chasing across Etheria looking for people who abandoned me when I was a kid when I have two wonderful moms,” Finn said. “If you’re stupid, I’m even more so.” 

Izzy said, “It’s not the same. You’re chasing answers, not a relationship.” 

Finn gave her arm a squeeze and said, “I think you’re doing the same. The relationship, if it happens, will just be a side bonus.” 

Izzy gave a grunt and said, “More like a side threat from where I stand now.” 

“Well it’s your choice to decide. It’s my job to stand behind you,” Finn said. 

“Just like I stand behind your choices,” Izzy said. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Finn said as they both settled back down and fell asleep. 

The next morning Finn was up early and was packing up their bag when they saw the small bundle of letters that they’d found waiting for them in the room back in the Bright Moon Archives. Finn pulled them out and ran their thumb over them briefly while sitting in the chair. Izzy gave a little snort and muttered something in her sleep. Finn waited to see if she was going to wake up but she just made a few more muttering noises before falling silent. 

Finn was about to put the bundle back when they stopped themself and pulled out the letter from Frosta. Finn gave a little more thought before finally extending a claw and slitting the envelope open. 

_ Finn, _

_ Here we are closing out our story on this and here I am writing what I guess is my epilogue to this whole thing. I could tell you stories of chases and escapes, clever heroes and evil villains but it wouldn’t be honest because it hasn’t been that kind of story. Instead it’s been a story of dead ends, frustration, and hopes dashed. Let’s be honest though, I don’t think the hope that we hoped for being dashed is necessarily a bad thing. You’re going to be raised by two people who are going to give you a better story then you would have had with the people we’re looking for. At least that’s what I think.  _

_ Of course, if you’re reading this, then maybe the story isn’t over just yet. There’s just been a pause, a jump in the text, and now new characters are coming out to be seen and make their mark on the story. Hopefully I’m around to see how it comes out. I’ve seen a lot of stories play out in my life so far, played a part in a fair amount of them myself, but I have to say, this story? I’m invested. I’m already scripting out how I want it to end and I’ve got to see if what I come up with is anything like what plays out. Either way, here’s to a great story for you and I hope it brings you the satisfaction of a tale well told. Love you. _

_ Your Auntie, _

_ Frosta _

Finn carefully folded the letter back up and packed it away with the rest. 

“Frosta’s letter?” Finn heard Izzy say. 

Finn looked over at her. She was blinking sleepily as she looked at Finn from her pillow.

“Yeah,” Finn said. “Do you want to read it?” 

“Not right now. Just give me a quick sum up,” Izzy said. 

Finn gave a shy smile and said, “Very much Auntie Frosta. She talked about the search in terms of a story and how if I was reading the letter then the story is still ongoing and she hopes she gets to see how it ends.” 

Izzy stretched as she sat up and said, “I like it. A story. Well, we can’t just lay around if we want the story to progress. Let’s get ready to go.”

Finn held up their bag and said, “Already done on my end. Want me to pack up for you while you get ready?” 

Izzy nodded as she got out of bed. After Finn was done, they went out and gave a knock on Artho and Oak’s door. The two assured Finn that they were getting ready by throwing a shoe at the door. Izzy came out and sat down and yawned again. 

“I’m not sure how much I slept last night,” Izzy said. “I kept waking up and then struggling to get back to sleep.” 

“You should have woke me up,” Finn said. 

“Why? No reason we both have to lose sleep,” Izzy said and then jerked her head as there was a polite knock on the main door. Finn started to go to it when Izzy got up and waved them back. She opened the door and Beluga was on the other side. She invited him in and the two sat down next to Finn. 

“Is it alright to speak about all of this?” Beluga said, giving a head nod towards Finn.

“It is,” Izzy said. “No secrets between us. Or the two who are in the other room who might come out while we’re talking.” 

Beluga nodded and said, “Alright. You said you wished to maintain contact with Emma but that you want to place some boundaries first. That’s understandable and good. I’ve let her know and she said she’s willing to abide by your wishes.” 

Izzy said, “Good. They’re simple. If she wants to speak with me, she can do it by physical letter. For now, she can send it to my house. She’s not to try and contact me any other way. First time she does, I’m done. Physical letter, only to me, addressed to my house. It’s that simple.”

Beluga said, “I think that’s fair. Any topic she shouldn’t address?” 

“No, she can write whatever she wants. I don’t promise I’ll respond to any of these but she can say whatever she wants,” Izzy said.

Beluga looked at Izzy for a long drawn out moment before saying, “Do you intend to answer?” 

Izzy looked at him and said, “What do you mean?” 

“Exactly what I asked. If this is some way to get revenge on her, I want to know. You have every right to be angry, I know some of what she’s done after all. If this is just a ploy to get revenge, if you’re trying to get her hopes up just to crush them and you have no intent to at least try, well, I’m going to advise you to not even bother and just let it go. It’s not healthy,” Beluga said. 

Izzy tucked non-existent hair behind her ear as she looked down and said, “I’d thought about that but no, I’m going to try. I’m just saying, she might make me angry right off the bat with whatever she sends.” 

Beluga nodded and said, “Thank you for being honest and that’s understandable. I only ask that you try. I’ll pass on your terms to her. I have no reason to believe she’ll have an issue with them.” 

They chatted for a few more minutes and then Beluga stood to leave. At the door, Izzy said, “One last thing. We’re leaving around midday today… if… if she wants to come see me off that would be alright.”

Beluga looked at her and then shook her hand, “I’ll see if she wants to. We’ll see you there if she does.” 

Izzy nodded and Beluga left. She turned around to Finn’s worried look as Artho and Oak came out of their room. 

“Are you…,” Finn began to say.

Izzy gave them a quick kiss and said, “We’ll see won’t we?” 

The rest of the morning passed easily. Breakfast, time with Frosta and Eider, and finally one last pass through the rooms to make sure they had everything, and then they were walking up through the castle towards the high point where the skiff was waiting. They stood beside it, bundled up again against the cold, goggles on against the bright light gleaming off the ice and snow. 

“Thank you again, Auntie Frosta,” Finn said. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for us.” 

“I’ve hardly done anything,” Frosta said. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tell me how much you appreciate me though. I like that.” 

Eider chuckled and said, “Now I know why you married two people instead of one.” 

“You knew that when you proposed to us both,” Frosta said with a grin. “Don’t act like you didn’t.” 

“Of course I did,” Eider said. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to tease you about it, Winters Bane.” 

Frosta bumped her hip against them with a laugh as Artho started up the engines and went over everything one more time. Final hugs were going around when Izzy looked towards the door to the inside and stiffened. Finn turned and saw who they could only assume was Emma standing next to Beluga. Everyone else noticed Finn and Izzy looking and they all turned as well to look. Emma shrank back a little at everyone staring at her and Beluga leaned over to whisper something. 

“You can just wave and leave,” Finn said. “Or just leave.”

Izzy shook her head. 

“Give me a moment, I won’t be long.” 

Izzy pulled up the scarf to cover her mouth and walked across the walkway, taking long strides in her boots, and came to a stop an arm’s length in front of Emma. Izzy looked at her through the tinted lens of her goggles and Emma, looking back, tried to square the image before her with the mental image of Izzy she had as two Emmas looked back in confusion at her from the lens. 

Izzy pulled the scarf down and lifted the goggles with her mouth set in a thin line as she said, “I’m leaving. I assume Beluga has told you what I proposed.” 

Emma nodded and said, “He has. I agree with it.”

“Good, because I won’t put up with any games. I have no reason to,” Izzy said.

Emma nodded and then, after a pause, said, “I’ll be mailing my first letter this morning. Just to let you know so, um, you’re watching for it I guess.” 

Izzy cocked her head sideways as she looked at Emma and said, “You’ve already written something?” 

Emma nodded and said, “I did. It’s not long.” 

Izzy thought for a moment and said, “I’m not going back home when we leave here. If you have it, you can just hand it to me right now.” 

Emma gave a grateful smile and pulled a small envelope out of her coat pocket and held it out. Izzy carefully took it out of her hand and put it in her satchel. They stood in awkward silence for a moment and then Izzy, not really understanding why she did, turned and pointed at Finn and said, “That’s Finn there.”

Finn saw Izzy pointing at them and gave an awkward wave. Emma gave one back and said, “Thank you. I was wondering. They seem nice.” 

“They don’t just seem it. They’re wonderful,” Izzy said. After a moment she shrugged and said, “Alright, I’m leaving now.”

Emma started to hesitantly step forward with her arms coming up for a hug and Izzy stepped back, her face going hard. 

“No!” she said, sharply and then in a slightly more normal voice continued. “Don’t touch me. If we ever get to that point, you’ll know.”

Emma stepped back nodding quickly as she said, “Of course…, I’m sorry…, I should have...” 

Izzy held her hand up to cut her off as she said, “Listen I don’t know why I’m giving you this chance. I shouldn’t but I’m doing it anyway. I’m not out for revenge. I don’t think we’re going to be close buddies either. I guess I don’t know where this goes. We’ll take it slow and see where we end up.” 

Emma nodded but didn’t say anything else. Izzy stood and looked at her for a moment and then dropped the goggles back over her eyes and brought the scarf back to cover her face. She gave a short nod and turned and walked back to the skiff. She gave Finn a quick hug and climbed up onto the skiff. The rest of The Team climbed up onboard and Eider and Frosta stepped back as Artho gave power to the engine and the skiff lifted off into the air. Izzy and Finn took their place at the front of the skiff and Izzy sat back in Finn’s arms, still and silent, as the castle dropped away from them and then was soon behind and disappearing under the horizon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back on my schedule! This ended up being a shorter chapter than I remember but I think that works out. The last chapter was a bit short as well. I hope you're enjoying this!


	15. Vext the dim sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team gets a little taste of ocean travel with Cowrie as they move on towards Dryl, reading to see what's next in their adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The flight to the port took most of the afternoon and as they approached, Finn looked over the side and quickly pointed out Cowrie’s ship. Artho brought the skiff in for a landing near the dock it was at and they could see Cowrie walking their way. She was wrapped up in waterproof cold weather gear and she rolled from one side to the other as she walked. Her first mate, Slick, walked looming behind her. She was missing toes and fingers and was covered in scars and tattoos and the only concession she’d made to the weather was a heavy knit sweater. Finn waved as they approached.

“Good to see you,” Finn said. “I think the last time I saw you, you were heaving harpoons the length of a bar.” 

Cowrie, who looked more like her mother but had a voice that boomed like her father, laughed and said, “Finn, that wasn’t a bar. It was just a friendly gathering place. I’m glad you’ve decided to include me in this little adventure. How’s it going so far?”

Finn said, “It’s been… interesting. We’ll fill you in on the way down the coast.” 

As they talked and Finn introduced Izzy, Oak and Artho walked over to Slick and bumped elbows with her. 

“Good to see you again,” Oak said with a grin. 

Slick spoke, a deep gravelly voice, and said, “And the same, at least as long as I’m not having to pull you out of the rigging again.” 

Oak laughed and said, “Well, that was just once. I learned my lesson.”

“Which means she’ll find some other way to cause havoc on board,” Artho said. 

Slick shook her head and started looking over the skiff and then turned to Cowrie.

“Captain, it’ll fit just fine ahead of the main mast. We can use the crane at the dock and we’ll just need to be sure and lash it down tight,” Slick said. 

Cowrie held a hand in front of Finn’s face, cutting them off mid-sentence, and said, “Good. Grab some crew and we’ll get it hauled down there and lashed on.”

Turning back to Finn, who had a bemused face at the abruptness, she said, “Any reason we can’t leave as soon as it’s on board?”

Finn turned to Izzy who shook her head and said, “We’re ready to go when you’re ready.”

“Well the crew isn’t real thrilled about being here. We’re more of a warm weather group. We can put you ashore south of Seaworthy and the flight to Dryl shouldn’t be that far from there. Should just be a few days of travel as long as we don’t hit any weather getting out of the Snows,” Cowrie said. 

“Excellent! Lead on then,” Finn said. 

The storm struck them that night. Finn woke when the hammock they were asleep in began pitching back and forth. Izzy was above them and stuck her head over the side of her hammock to see what was going on. Within arm’s reach on the other side of the cabin, Artho sat up as well.

“Alright, it’s not just me,” Izzy said as the ship made another lurch and they could hear the howl of wind picking up. 

Finn noticed that Oak seemed to be asleep.

“How in the world is she still sleeping in this?” Finn remarked. 

“I have no idea. What do we do?” Artho said as the boat gave a groan. 

“Well, as you know, I’m well trained in piloting a ship such as this so I’ll just hop up on deck and lend my expertise,” Finn said. 

“Since when!?” Artho said as the wind noise got louder. 

“Since never! I have no idea what’s going on!” Finn said.

Izzy looking down at Finn, although the height varied a little as the ship heaved up and down, cut in. 

“If there’s something for us to do, I think someone would have already come and got us,” Izzy said. “We’re passengers. Our job is probably just to sit in one place and keep out of their way.” 

“Izzy, I applaud your calmness but have you noticed that the wall could almost double as a floor?” Artho said. 

Izzy looked around and then back at Artho and said, “I have no control over my situation therefore I am choosing to trust in our captain, her crew, and their abilities.”

Finn looked at Izzy and when she looked back Finn realized her normal tan skin was turning a bit paler than usual. 

“Iz?” Finn said. 

She held up a finger as she shook her head and gulped a little. 

“Alright, I’m better now,” she said. 

Artho saw Izzy struggling and suddenly she was struggling as well. 

“I shouldn’t have looked…,” Artho started to say and then suddenly was gulping and shaking her head like she was denying everything she’d ever heard in her life. Finn closed their eyes and tried to not think about it when there was a knock at the door. 

“There is no way I’m going to be able to answer that,” Finn said. 

The voice of Slick came through the door as she said, “Captain says stay in the cabin.” 

“No problem,” the three of them said at once.

“Captain also said you clean up any mess you make,” Slick said through the door. 

“We’ll try not to make any,” Finn said. 

Finn swore they heard Slick give a chuckle as she said, “Best of luck.” 

As the ship pitched about, Finn idly touched the emergency beacon under their shirt. True to their word, they’d never taken it off since they’d left on the trip and now they wondered just what would happen if they had to activate it now. Would Glimmer even be able to make a landing on a surface that wasn’t even in the same space one second to the next? What if the ship fell apart? She’d drop into freezing cold water. Finn let go of the beacon and did their best not to think about such things. This became a lot easier when Oak suddenly woke up, looked at the ceiling, and said, “Well, that explains it.” 

Then she promptly leaned over the side of her hammock and threw up all over the deck. 

Artho and Izzy started shouting and then looking away as Finn clamped their eyes shut and Oak said, “Sorry about that.” 

When Finn peaked out briefly, Oak was passed out asleep again. 

“What!? HOW!?” Finn said. 

“What happened?” Artho said. 

“She fell back asleep!” Finn said. 

“How!?” Izzy shouted, still not looking at anything. 

“I have no clue!” Finn said. “Is it some super secret Aunt Perfuma thing!?” 

“Not that I know and if she taught her this and not me we’re having words!” Artho said and then started screaming as the whole ship suddenly seemed to stand on end. Finn and Izzy slammed back into the wall as they both started yelling as well as Artho and Oak were hanging in the middle of the cabin, Oak sprawled out asleep still. Then the ship leveled out for a brief moment before they were suddenly swinging the other direction with Oak and Artho slamming into the wall and Finn and Izzy hanging out in the middle of the cabin. 

Oak muttered, “Hey, stop messing around, let me sleep,” and then promptly fell back asleep as the hammocks leveled out again. 

“I’m going to kill her if we live through this!” Artho shouted.

Izzy was clinging to the sides of the hammock as the ship gave a slow sideways roll and they heard laughter ring out above them. 

“Was… was that Cowrie?” Izzy said.

“Sure sounded like her,” Finn said. 

“Oh Mara, no!” Artho said.

“What!?” Izzy said. 

“Her dad…,” Artho started to say and was distracted as the boat pitched sharply. 

“She’s not setting the ship on fire,” Finn said. “She loves it too much.” 

“That doesn’t mean she’s not going to push it to its limits!” Artho said. 

Finn started giggling and then laughing and Artho went wide eyed as she said, “Oh great, it’s contagious!” 

“No! I just thought…,” Finn said before laughing harder as the ship pitched and rolled. “Sorry… just, Oak, she’s all about adventure…”

Izzy caught on and started laughing as she finished Finn’s sentence and said, “And she’s sleeping through it!” 

Artho looked at them both and then started snorting and then laughing as they rode on into the storm. 

The next morning found the three leaning against the railing on deck, bleary eyed and exhausted. The storm had blown out shortly before day break and they had stumbled on deck just to get out of a cabin that had become claustrophobic to them during the long night. They’d watched the sky lighten as the new day had begun and the crew cheerfully went about their duties as Cowrie walked up to them. 

“Sleep well?” she said. 

Artho just raised an eyebrow at her and said, “Really?” 

“Well, I should ask if I need to send a mop and bucket to your room but I figured I’d save that for the second thing I ask. So… should I send a mop and bucket to your room?” Cowrie said. 

“Yes, but hand it to Oak. She’s the one who made the mess,” Finn said. 

“There’s no shame in it,” Cowrie said. 

“And that’s why Oak is going to clean up her not shameful mess,” Finn shot back. 

“Where is she anyway?” Cowrie asked. 

Izzy, who was watching the vortices coming off the back of the ship, said, “Still asleep.” 

“Figured you’d let her get her rest after all that?” Cowrie said. 

“No, you don’t understand,” Finn said. “She slept through almost the whole thing. I have no idea how. That was a nightmare but she just snoozed right along.” 

“Nightmare? Naw! That was just the wifey being playful,” Cowrie replied. “I’ve seen much worse storms down around southern Plumeria during the rainy season.” 

“Well could you tell the wife to let me get some sleep?  _ Please?”  _ Artho said. 

“I’ll ask but you know the ocean, she does as she pleases and I respect her decision in that matter,” Cowrie said. 

Oak came walking out on deck about then, stretching and said, “Hey, there you all are. Did you know someone threw up on the floor in our cabin?” 

“I’m going to kill her,” Artho said as her tail jumped up. “I’m going to run out a plank and make her walk down it!” 

“No!” Cowrie said. When everyone looked at her she said, “That’s not how you do it. It’s easier just to toss her over the side then try and rig up some weird plank.” 

“What? Why’s everyone look like you haven’t slept?” Oak said. “Well, except you Cowrie.” 

As Artho started to step forward Finn grabbed her shoulder and said, “No, don’t.”

Izzy snorted and said, “That’s right. Wait until you’re rested. It’ll go better.” 

Artho looked at Izzy and then started laughing. 

“What is going on?” Oak said. 

“You slept through a massive storm last night,” Finn said. 

Cowrie jumped in and said, “It wasn’t that bad.” 

“We’re land folk, Cowrie. It was bad enough. Anyway, you woke up only long enough to throw up on the floor and then went right back to snoozing,” Finn said. 

“Really? Well, I guess it went alright,” Oak said. 

“I guess you’re scrubbing the floors,” Cowrie said. 

“I just can’t believe you slept through it,” Finn said. “We were swaying all over the cabin and slamming into the walls which were level enough to be floors a few times.” 

“That sounds awesome!” Oak said. 

Izzy stuck her hand over her face and Cowrie said, “You know you can shorten up the lines holding the hammocks in place and not sway that much right?” 

“Well I do  _ now, _ ” Artho said. “And now I’m tempted to toss you over after Oak for not mentioning that earlier.” 

“Careful now, that’s mutinous talk,” Cowrie said with a grin. 

“I remember when you were born, I’ll be mutinous to you if I want to be,” Artho said. 

“You were what? Two?” Cowrie said.

“Hey! It still counts!” Artho said. 

“Artho, before you get  _ us _ chucked over the side could you be quiet long enough for us to eat something?” Finn said. 

“You have an appetite after last night? I’m impressed,” Cowrie said. 

“It could end up just being an elaborate way to feed the fish, we’ll see,” Finn said. 

Izzy gave Finn a look and just shook her head. 

The rest of the trip was fairly easy. Izzy and Oak hung out with the navigator as Izzy started learning from them both about the job as Finn and Artho both went around the ship, checking out every little nook and cranny and helping out occasionally where they could. There was only one other storm that proved to be milder than the first. 

As it hit before nightfall, Oak was awake as the ship swayed and pitched and was fascinated by the whole process. The other three of The Team just played it off and talked about how much worse the first one had been. They even managed to go to sleep during it and each woke up in the still of the night when the silence of the storm’s absence woke them briefly, like a gentle nudge, and then went back to sleep. 

The next morning, as they were sitting out on deck watching the clouds race by and enjoying the warmer weather they’d sailed into over the trip, a lookout overhead shouted out, “Captain! Incoming!” 

The Team looked up in alarm but Cowrie, standing next to them, just sighed and shook her head. Right after she did, a figure broke the surface of the water propelled on a column of water, did a quick somersault, and landed on the deck next to them. 

“You know, you can just come up alongside and ask for a ladder, Mother,” Cowrie said. “And I told you I’d be by sometime in the next few weeks.” 

“Not everything is about you, Seashell,” Mermista said as she leaned against the railing. “In this case it’s about a certain person who hasn’t contacted their moms in several days and who’s said moms  _ won’t stop bothering me! _ ” 

Finn looked around at the crew like they were trying to figure out which one she was talking about and they could almost hear her roll her eyes as she said, “Finn, call your moms!” 

Finn turned back to her with a grin and said, “Aunt Mermista, are you sure it’s me?” 

“I will throw you overboard, bring you back, and throw you over again,” Mermista said. “Try me.” 

“You know water doesn’t bother me like it does Mother, right?” Finn said with a laugh. 

“If I get another, ‘Hey, Mista, just calling to say hey, soooooo… haven’t heard from them have you?’ call I’m sure going to test that,” Mermista said. “I tried to get them to call this one but she has a convenient way of ignoring the call.”

“I’ve told you I don’t get good signal on that old data pad of mine. I have to be close to shore,” Cowrie said. 

“Yes, I’m sure that’s true and you don’t just turn it off or screen the calls. Really,” Mermista said, rolling her eyes.

Finn shook their head and said, “I don’t know what they’re freaking out about. I sent them a message right before we left Frosta’s and said we’d be out to sea for a few days and I’d contact them when we got to Dryl.” 

Izzy started rummaging around in her satchel and came out with the data pad and was messing with it when she said, “Uh, Finn?”

Finn turned around and she just held it out. In the unsent message queue, plain as day, was the message Finn thought had been sent that day. Finn’s ears flattened out and their tail curled around one leg. 

“What?” Artho said. “Do we need to hide?” 

“The message didn’t send. It’s been forever since they heard from us,” Finn said. "How did you know where to come looking for us?” 

“Some whales told me,” Mermista said. 

“That one pod that hangs out over by the Glacial Deep this time of year?” Cowrie said.

“The same. They say hello by the way,” Mermista said. “Their calves are doing well.” 

“I thought I heard them when I was going by. If you see them on your way back, give them my love,” Cowrie said.

“Alright, hey, I’m sure this is great but I gotta go make a call,” Finn said. 

“Oh no, you’re not running off and making that call by yourself,” Mermista said. “You’re making it right here. I gotta see this. I’m not sure if it’s possible to reach through a data pad and drag someone back through it but I’ve got money that one of them will be able to pull it off.” 

Finn flinched as they leaned against a railing and made the call. It was only a few moments before Catra answered. 

“Finn. Good to see you,” Catra said evenly. 

Finn’s ears flattened out even more as they said, “First, I apologize. I sent a message but didn’t think to check to see if it went.” 

Catra nodded and said, “And where’s the rest of your merry crew?” 

Finn turned the pad so she could see everyone. Izzy was next to Finn and just gave a pained smile. Artho and Oak both gave a half-hearted wave. Cowrie had her arm around her mother and gave a little salute as Mermista said, “Yo-ho!” 

“Really, Mother?” Cowrie said with a roll of her eyes as Finn turned the pad back so they could see the screen again.

“How mad are you?” Finn said nervously. 

“Meh, not really at all now,” Catra said. “And it was more nervous and worried than mad. I’m guessing you’re not heading back here?” 

“No, we’re going to make landfall near Dryl and go there before we move on to Dava,” Finn said. “It was made as a group decision.” 

“Ok, that’s fine. I’m going to contact Adora and everyone’s parental figures and let them know I’ve heard from you. You have to promise me that you’ll call everyone tonight though  _ and _ that you’ll start checking to be sure the messages send,” Catra said. “This is for my sanity because I swear Adora was about to start climbing the walls.”

“I promise,” Finn said with a little smile. “And you can say you were worried too.”

“I already did, kiddo,” Catra said.

“Well it’s good to hear that my elders were concerned. It warms my heart,” Finn said. 

“Did you just call me your elder?” Catra said while Artho gave Finn a thumbs up from behind the camera and Cowrie got a roguish smile on her face. 

“It’s a term of endearment, Mother,” Finn said. 

“Well I’m glad to see that you’re definitely alright. I’ll let you go for now and we’ll chat tonight,” Catra said. 

They agreed on a time and signed off and Mermista gave a little harrumph. 

“Well, that was way less exciting then I’d hoped,” she said. 

“Sorry to disappoint,” Finn said. “We’re pretty boring.” 

“Besides, Mother, it’s not best to get you too excited. What with you being an elder and all,” Cowrie said. 

Mermista slowly turned to her as she raised one eyebrow and said, “Excuse me?” 

“Is your hearing going? I’m not sure I should let you swim home on your own if it is,” Cowrie said. “Should I have Father bring a ship out to get you?”

The two walked around the boat playfully bickering at each other for several more hours while the rest hung out watching. As the hours passed, the coast slowly slid into sight and soon they were running along the coast until mid-afternoon they came upon the port. It consisted of only a few houses in a very blocky style along with the dock. As they came closer, they realized something. 

“Uh, Cowrie,” Finn said as they walked up to her by the wheel. 

“I gave him the hair back in a bag. It’s not my fault that twit couldn’t take a joke,” Cowrie said to Mermista before turning to Finn. “What’s up?” 

“That’s the port if I’m not mistaken?” Finn said, pointing. 

Cowrie nodded and said, “Yep, that’s the one. It’s not real big.” 

“No, it is not. In fact, it looks like a fishing dock,” Finn said. 

“So what’s the problem, Finn? We’re going to be docking soon. If you’re trying to say you want to go somewhere else, I kinda need to know pretty quick,” Cowrie said. 

“Well… how are we going to get the skiff off? We had to use a crane to get it on and I don’t see anything like that here,” Finn said. 

Cowrie looked at the dock and then at the skiff still lashed down on the deck. 

“That is an excellent question,” she responded. “Any chance you can fly it off the deck?” 

Finn shook their head and said, “Artho’s a good pilot but I’m pretty sure she’d take out most of your rigging if she tried.” 

Mermista gave a snorting laugh and said, “I love you dear but this is going to be hilarious to watch.” 

“Skiffs don’t float or I’d ask you to just, you know...,” Finn said as they made wave motions with their hands. 

“Really?” Mermista said. “Is that all I am to you? A convenient wave?” 

“No, you’re the mighty Sea-Ra just as you always told me when I was little. I know you can do wonderful things,” Finn said with a straight face. 

“You’re right I am pretty amazing so I’ll let the teasing slide,” Mermista said.

Cowrie suddenly shouted loud enough to cause Finn to jump.

“Slick!” 

Slick came up to her and she said, “Alright, Slick. It looks like the dock doesn’t have a crane. We gotta get the skiff off and onto the dock so they can take off. Make it happen would you please?” 

Slick gave a single nod and went off shouting. What followed was several hours of tension mixed with tedium as the crew improvised a ramp. The few people living nearby came out of their homes to watch the operation take place. The Team worked alongside the crew, working with block and tackle to try and carefully ease it off the boat and onto the dock. Izzy found the work not much different than backstage work as she helped out and Oak and Artho helped haul things and handled lines as slowly the skiff made its way across the deck and towards the dock. 

Finn ran around, trying to help where they could, but in the end found themself standing on the railing, watching the skiff slowly go over the railing and down the makeshift ramp. Izzy stood back as well on the other side watching carefully as Oak and Artho joined some of the crew on the lines that were tied around the skiff. Cowrie came up beside Finn, more nervous than Finn had ever seen her. 

“You alright?” Finn said. 

Cowrie, listening intently to every groan of the rigging and her crew, didn’t even respond. She suddenly started to point at a line the same time that Slick started moving. 

“Take up slack on A! Take it up  _ now _ !” both Slick and Cowrie shouted as one of the lines split with a cracking noise and the skiff suddenly lurched forward. The sudden pressure on the opposite lines jerked several crewmembers off their feet and the skiff leaned to the side over the gap between ship and dock. Finn was right behind Slick grabbing the line along with her from the fallen crewmembers. Finn heard Izzy right behind them as she leaned into the line. Finn could hear Oak shouting something from another one of the lines but couldn’t make out the words as they all leaned in to take the excess strain. Finn felt the rope biting into their palms and heard Izzy whimpering as well. The skiff stopped but it was precariously balanced on the edge of the makeshift ramp. 

Finn couldn’t see what was going on by the broken line but they could hear people over there and hoped they’d get it repaired soon as they could feel the tension singing through the unbalanced lines. They heard quick talk of trying to push the skiff back into place on the ramp somehow but with the weight of the skiff and where it currently rested it started to become more and more clear that letting it go into the water may be the only way to avoid injury to the crew or damage to the ship itself. Finn knew that if it came down to damaging the ship to save the skiff, Cowrie would do it, even though it’d pain her to hurt her ship, because the ship could be fixed. But if it hurt her crew, as it became more obvious it would if things got much more out of hand, she’d cut the lines herself and not apologize one bit and Finn wouldn’t even think to ask her to do so. 

As the thought of how bad it was getting crossed their mind, they saw Cowrie approaching with a boarding axe in each hand and Finn knew that it was almost over. Then they heard a loud splashing and the load suddenly shifted, became easier to bear, and one of the crew was yelling, “Let the lines out! We can get it on the dock! Let the lines out!” 

They did and soon the lines lay slack as a cheer went up from the crew. Finn ran to the railing to see what had happened, along with most of the crew, and saw the skiff safely on the dock with a few of the crew removing the rigging from it. Standing next to it was Mermista who looked up at Finn and gave a grin and shouted, “I told you I’m amazing!” 

“And you were right!” Finn shouted back as Izzy shoved through to their side and let out a whoop. 

They all found out from those who saw it that right when Cowrie was about to cut the lines and let the skiff fall, Mermista, who’d been in the water, had hit the side of the skiff with a jet of water from both sides that’d shoved it back into the center of the ramp and allowed them to put it on the dock with the remaining lines. 

Later, standing on the dock next to the skiff, The Team thanked Mermista, Cowrie, and the whole crew for their help. Artho had already gone over the skiff, fretting over each little thing, and leaned against it now with a sigh of relief and a smile. Oak was going through the crew giving out fist bumps and high-fives while Izzy just sat on the edge of the dock with her feet hanging over the edge and a small smile on her face as Finn stood next to her and spoke with Cowrie and Mermista.

“It’ll be dark soon,” Cowrie asked. “We were going to go with the tide but did you want us to stay so you can use the cabin?” 

Finn shook their head and said, “No. Worse case, I see a nice spot up on shore that we can put up our tent. Honestly, I might do that anyway. It’s so nice out!” 

Mermista gave Finn a look and said, “I can tell you just spent time up in the Snows. It’s cold right now, Finn.” 

“Well it feels good. I’m not bundled four layers deep,” Finn said. “My fur doesn’t feel like it’s never going to fluff out again so I say it’s nice out.” 

“I think this was enough fun for one day,” Mermista said, shaking her head. “I’m headed home before Sea Hawk sets something important on fire.” 

“Give Father my love,” Cowrie said. 

“And I assume you’ll give it yourself as well and that you haven’t conveniently forgotten you’re supposed to be coming back home in a few weeks," Mermista said. 

“No,  _ Mother, _ I haven’t forgotten. I’ll be there. Well, plus or minus a few days either side,” Cowrie said. 

“I find it interesting that you can make it into a port to almost the minute your schedule requires, through storms, horrible tides, and navigation hazards, but you can’t make a family dinner,” Mermista said. 

“It’s not like you can’t just come out to the ship anytime and visit,” Cowrie said. 

“Visit. Make it happen,” Mermista said, pointing at her. 

The Team finished their farewells there on the dock and soon the ship was underway back out to sea with Mermista following along, leaping in and out of the wake. They all turned and went ashore, Artho insisting on moving the skiff off the dock and landing it on solid ground. They chatted with the locals a little and found out that there wasn’t really anywhere to stay but they were welcome to camp above the high tide line near the dock. They finally hauled the tent out and set it up and set up the camp furniture Adora had insisted they bring along and soon they were sitting under an awning in front of the tent and watching multi-colored phosphorescent waves hit the shore as the stars came out. 

“Alright, we better start calling people or we’re going to be really crowded with everyone that’ll show up,” Finn said with a laugh as they hauled out the data pad. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say in the note for this one except that I can hear Mermista saying, "Yo-ho" and I giggle every time I do.


	16. The Lights Begin to Twinkle From the Rocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team are camped on a beach and they realize, hey, maybe they can kick back for a bit, take a breather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The calls went well. Grandma had come down at Catra’s invitation and they’d all talked. Izzy had briefly described the meeting with Emma and Finn had described the plans they had going forward of going on to Dava by way of the castle at Dryl and then possibly back to Bright Moon for a break. 

Adora’s face got troubled for a moment as she thought about Dryl and said, “If you hear anything when you’re there about Entrapta or Hordak, would you let us know immediately? They’ve been out of contact for a really long time at this point.” 

“Will do, Mom,” Finn said. “I’m sure they just got extra interested in a star that’s a bit different or something. I’m sure it’s nothing.” 

Adora nodded and they talked a bit longer before signing off and calling Perfuma and Scorpia and their family. Scorpia fretted over the line at everyone and Artho and Oak’s siblings shouted in the background wanting to know what kind of adventures they’d had already. 

“Big bees, chases through streets and alleys, tense encounters, adventurous flying, big storms on the high seas, you name it, we’ve done it!” Oak said in excitement. 

Scorpia’s face went a bit pale as she listened to her but didn’t say anything. Perfuma’s smile got a bit tighter but she simply asked that they be sure and be as careful as they could. 

“We are, Mom,” Artho said. “It’s not as wild as she’s making it out to be.” 

“Well I’m glad you said that at least,” Perfuma said as her and Scorpia traded a quick look. 

After they wrapped up the call, Finn set up a small camp stove and cooked up a quick dinner for them by lantern light. Artho cleaned up afterwards and then the four sat back again in gentle silence, watching the phosphorescent waves break on the rocks. Every few minutes, one of them would think about saying something and then give a little contented sigh and let the silence stretch out just a bit more.

In the quiet, Izzy reached into her satchel and found the letter from Emma, still unopened in its envelope. She held it and looked at the neat handwriting of the address on it. Finn saw her looking at it and turned a little in their chair to watch her. Izzy looked up and saw Finn watching her and hung her head for a moment before breaking the silence. 

“I still haven’t been able to read it,” she said quietly. 

“Want me to?” Artho quipped. 

Izzy gave Artho a sharp look and Artho held up her hands and said, “Sorry. Trying to lighten the mood.” 

Izzy frowned a little and said, “Maybe I should let someone else read it. Let me know what’s in it before I commit to it.” 

“Iz, I know Artho was joking but if you want one of us to, we can,” Finn said. 

Izzy flipped the paper back and forth with one hand while she thought and then shook her head. 

“No, no, I should be the one,” she said. 

As everyone gave a little nod, she suddenly tore the end of the envelope off. The other three looked at her as she pulled out the folded letter and looked at it for a moment. 

“Iz… you don’t have to. You know that right?” Finn said. 

She nodded and held the letter and said, “But I can. I think that’s what matters to me. I have the option either way. It’s up to  _ me,  _ not her.” 

She flipped the letter open and began to read. 

_ Dear Izzy,  _

_ I was really happy to see you the other day even though it was really rocky. You looked really good, that style fits you but I’m not here to talk about that though. I’m here to say that the more I think about it, the more I realized that I really wasn’t a great parent. I always just thought it was normal because every parent I know had regrets and mistakes. After the other day though and what you said, well, I think I screwed up badly. Because those other parents? Their kids aren’t telling them that they never want to see them again or that they hate them just as a matter-of-fact thing. That’s just something I’m hearing from my child.  _

_ I used to tell you all the time to be realistic so I should listen to my own words and do the same myself. I’m kind of realizing what I have made of my life. Beluga says to accept what is so that I can work on making it what it can be. I think that’s going to be a big thing for me to work at, accepting what is. That’s what I hope these letters can do and we will see what our relationship can be.  _

_ I want to ask you questions but I don’t want to upset you so I’ll just talk about what I’m thinking about. I’ll say that I’m hoping to stay here when I’m done with the program and by here, I mean the greenhouse. I like the work, I feel useful. You said that’s kind of the point so I guess it worked. I’m also thinking about what you said about sorry. I think you meant, can I say why I’m sorry or was I just using it to try and deflect the argument (Beluga helped me with that one). In other words, do I really understand what I am apologizing for. So that’s what I’ll close with for now. I’m sorry it’s got to this. I’m sorry that I screwed up so badly in being your parent. I hope I get a chance to do better, be better for you. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Emma _

_ P.S. Thank you for this chance.  _

Izzy crushed the paper in her fist and gritted her teeth as she looked at the ground. The other three looked on quietly as she took a deep breath and slowly straightened out the crumpled paper. She read through it again in silence and then sighed and carefully folded it back up and put it away in her satchel. She stared at the waves for a little bit in quiet and then looked at the others and said, “She said sorry. She actually said it and gave a reason why.” 

Finn placed their hand on her leg and said, “But isn’t that good?” 

Izzy started to say something but then found that she couldn’t. She agreed that it was a good thing but she couldn’t think of why she felt so torn up about the whole thing. 

“You wanted her to say it sooner,” Artho said.

Finn and Izzy looked over to where she was sprawled in a folding chair. Izzy thought and then slowly nodded. 

“I think you’re right,” she said. 

“Well, yeah,” Artho said with a grin before getting a bit more serious. “Really though, I’d say that it’s great she’s saying it, assuming she means it, but you’re angry because you wanted that sooner. It would have been great if she’d have been able to muster that up when it could have made a bigger difference in how you grew up.” 

Izzy nodded again and she could feel the tension leaving as she thought about it. 

“At least she did say it though. Finally. Maybe this wasn’t a waste of time,” Izzy said. 

“Hey, this kind of thing takes time and you got to give it room to grow. You did a good call doing it by letter so you each have time to frame your replies,” Artho said.

Oak was looking at her sister with an odd look and finally said, “You are pretty perceptive about all of this.” 

Artho said, “You forget who our parents are.” 

“No, I’m not likely to forget but seriously, that was really good insight,” Oak said. 

“It was,” Izzy said. “Thank you.” 

Artho shifted a little in her chair, as if she was suddenly uncomfortable and finally said, “It was no big deal. Really.” 

Finn gave a grin and teased Artho a little by saying, “You should become a Listener yourself.” 

Oak laughed a little but Artho got a really serious look. Finn noticed it, as did Izzy, and Finn said, “Artho? What’s wrong?” 

Oak stopped laughing and then looked at her sister and said, “Hey, you alright?” 

Artho nodded, still with the serious look, and said, “I’m fine.” 

Izzy looked at Finn and took their hand and squeezed it. She felt like she’d started something but she wasn’t sure what and she could feel her insides starting to clench up in worry. She tried to think of something to say but froze up as a dozen different situations danced in her head, each more horrible than the last. Finn noticed and stood up to put their arms around her. 

Oak leaned forward in her chair and said, “Liar. I’ve known you for years. What’s going on?” 

Artho sighed and said, “I um… well, I’ve, you know thought about it. Being a Listener.” 

They all sat in silence with Artho looking down, not wanting to meet anyone’s eyes.

“You should,” Oak said sincerely.

Artho looked up at her, looking to see if she was joking, and Oak said, “I’m serious. I know I laughed about it but I’m serious. I’m behind you on this.” 

“What brought this on?” Finn said. 

Artho shrugged and said, “Well, you know, I’ve thought of it before what with Mom being a big part of it but never really was real serious about it. Then the other day, after the whole thing with the night flight, I did a lot of thinking and realized that I didn’t want to just be a loud mouth sarcastic jerk my whole life. I figured I could use it to help people as well.” 

Oak snorted and when Artho looked at her she said, “Sorry. It was just the way you put it but you know what? I think you’ll do well at it.”

Finn nodded and said, “I think you will as well.”

Artho said, “I’m worried about all the reading you have to do though. I see how much Mom does these days and it’s never been my thing.”

“Well, you do it when you’re interested,” Oak said. “I think you’ll be fine.” 

Izzy stood up at that moment and went into the tent and they all turned to look at her as she disappeared behind the flap. 

“Did I say something wrong?” Oak said. 

Finn shrugged and said towards the tent, “Iz? You alright?” 

“Sorry! Yes! Just a moment,” they heard her say. 

She came out a minute later with a thick book in her hand and walked over to Artho. She held it for a moment and then handed it to Artho. She took it from Izzy and looked at it.  _ Introduction to Etherian Thought  _ was printed across the cover with an image of the night sky full of stars and the outline of a person’s head looking up. 

“That’s the intro book that most Listener’s start with,” Izzy said as she stood there. “I’ve been reading it to help myself but I’ve read it multiple times. If you want, you’re welcome to borrow it and read it, see if you’re interested. I’ve got notes in the margins and some highlighting in it but it’s still readable.”

Artho nodded and said, “Thanks, Izzy. I appreciate it.”

Finn looked at Izzy in shock and then said, “Izzy? Are you sure?” 

Artho looked at Finn quizzically as Izzy nodded and Finn turned to Artho and said, “Just in case you don’t understand, Izzy is super attached to her books. I don’t think she’s ever loaned one out that I know of.”

Artho looked back at Izzy as she sat down and Izzy, looking a bit uncomfortable, said, “I don’t loan them out but you’re my friend. I trust you to take care of it.” 

Artho clutched the book a little closer to her and seemed suddenly on the verge of tears as she nodded and said, “I will and as soon as I can I’ll get my own copy and get it back to you.” 

Izzy gave a little smile and said, “Thank you.” 

Oak had a huge grin on her face as she said, “You know what? I love all of you right now more than I can say.”

Izzy looked at her and said, “Me too. The Team.” 

“The Team,” Finn repeated.

Artho gave a smile and said, “Absolutely. The Team.” 

They ended up talking late into the evening by lantern light about their future and what they wanted it to be. Oak wasn’t sure and talked mostly about how she wanted to travel like they were doing and go on adventures. She could see it lay out before her as she said, “Etheria first but then there’s so many other planets to see and people to see I want to range far and wide.” 

Finn talked about how they wanted to continue to do theater. They’d helped found one with a lot of kids, now growing into young adults, when they were younger and it was a thriving thing that was starting to get recognition for the quality and imagination of their work. 

“Izzy’s got a lot of credit on that. She’s a top notch backstage manager,” Finn said. “But I’d love to keep it growing, split off part of it as a kid’s theater for kids to come on board and learn like we did. If they don’t want to be part of an established group, we sure didn’t at the time, we can at least give some guidance if they’ll take it.” 

Izzy blushed at Finn’s complement but didn’t say anything about it. She talked a bit but never commented on her future until Artho finally asked her point blank about it. 

“Izzy, what about you?” Artho said, still holding the book that Izzy had given her close.

“What about me?” she replied.

“Nope, don’t deflect,” Artho said. “What about your plans?” 

Izzy shook her head and said, “I don’t know really.”

Finn was holding her hand and gave it a squeeze as they said, “You haven’t had any thoughts?” 

Izzy fidgeted for a moment and then said, “Well… you know, growing up, I figured Bryce and Emma would pick it for me like they did everything else. I had a few things but…”

She trailed off as she remembered getting yelled out or laughed at when she’d shared those thoughts of what she liked then looked around at everyone sitting under the awning with her and realized they would never mock her for those things.

“I wanted to be a researcher at one point. When I was younger, I wanted to be a teacher. I thought about being an artist at one point, that’s what got me into models, but really, I don’t know. It’s only recently I’ve realized that I’ve got any choice in the matter and it’s still new enough, I’m not even sure,” Izzy said. “Right now, I’m just adjusting to my life being my own.” 

Artho grinned and said, “Well, I’d give you advice but I need a few years and then I’ll be happy to be your Listener.” 

Izzy gave a small smile and said, “Thanks for that and you’re right it should be a few years because as of right now I think I know more than you do.”

Artho gave a huge smile and said, “Izzy, every once in a while you let loose with the sass and it is always a thing of beauty.” 

Izzy gave a shy grin and Finn gave a little whoop of laughter at it while Oak shot back a grin herself. Finn leaned out from under the awning and looked at the sky and said, “It’s over halfway through the night. I’m headed to bed. Well, cot, but still I’m getting some sleep. Do we want to leave out in the morning?” 

“Why rush?” Artho said. “Let’s take a day off.”

Oak looked at the small sleeping village up the hill from them and said, “I’m for that. I’d like to poke around a little. Izzy? You’re the schedule keeper. Can we fit it in?” 

Izzy nodded as she stretched and said, “Sure, why not?” 

“Finn, I think we broke her,” Artho said. 

Izzy laughed as she folded up her chair and stowed it in the skiff before going into the tent. 

The next morning found Oak and Izzy up at daybreak and outside on the beach while Finn and Artho mumbled a little before pulling their sleeping bags up over their heads. Oak went traipsing off towards the small village above the dock and Izzy sat down at a folding table and pulled out some paper to begin writing a letter to Emma. She went through several drafts and was getting frustrated as she tried to put into words what she was thinking an hour later when Oak returned with a basket full of fruit and bread. 

“Hey, Izzy! I brought breakfast!” Oak said with a swagger as she sat it on one end of the table. 

Izzy looked up from writing and went to tuck back hair that didn’t exist and snorted in frustration at the gesture. 

“Do you not like fruit? Or bread? I can go and try to find something else,” Oak volunteered. 

“No, it’s not that. I’m just trying to write this letter and it’s not going,” Izzy said. “At all.” 

“Want some help?” Oak said as she started slicing up fruit. 

Izzy thought about it for a moment, stealing a slice of melon as she did, and then said, “Should I start out just brutal, let her have it, or should I try and be civil?” 

Oak shrugged as she tore a piece of bread off and pushed it towards Izzy as she took another slice of melon and said, “Well I was raised to be honest and forthright and not to hide my emotions so I say go with letting her know exactly how you feel.”

Izzy fiddled with the pen for a moment and chewed on the bread before she said, “I kind of want to be civil though. I want to be above petty and not give her the satisfaction of being angry. Of course I also want to just lay into her.” 

Oak popped a few berries into her mouth and thought as she chewed before saying, “Well, try this. Maybe open with what you’ve been up to, you know, just something friendly to establish the opening. Then maybe you can go into the chewing out. Something like, ‘Hello, I’m on an epic adventure with my friends. It’s quite interesting and fun. Anyway, I wanted to say that you did a terrible job as a parent. I’m off for more adventure. Sincerely, Izzy.’ Simple. To the point.” 

Izzy gave a little laugh and said, “Alright, maybe not that exactly but I’ll try it out.” 

Izzy was about to start writing when Oak put a hand forward close to Izzy’s hand and said, “Izzy, I just wanted to say I’m glad you’re my friend.” 

Izzy looked at her in confusion.

“What do you mean?” she said. 

Oak said, “I remember when Artho and I first met you at that party months ago. You were really quiet. It was easy to see that you were freaked out but you tried. I’m glad you did. You’re really great and I’m glad I get to be your friend.”

Izzy was about to take Oak’s hand but stopped at the last minute and instead stood up and stepped forward into a hug. 

“Thank you,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I’m glad you’re all my friends as well.”

Finn stepped out of the tent at that moment and saw them both hugging and gave a smile that turned into a yawn. 

“Did I miss out on all the hugs?” Finn said as they went to sit down at the table.

Izzy came over and gave them a hug and a kiss and said, “No, I always have more for you.” 

Oak came over and gave Finn a hug as well as they all sat down at the table. Finn noticed the paper and pen but said nothing as Izzy packed it away and got some more fruit and bread. 

“Is my sister awake yet?” Oak said. 

“No, she’s actually snoring a little bit in there,” Finn said. “Want to wake her up?” 

“Naw, it’s supposed to be our off day,” Oak said.

“And more fruit for you?” Finn said.

“I would never say such a thing but yes, definitely more fruit for me,” Oak said. 

They spent the rest of the day walking around the small village and along the beach. Oak tried to go swimming but the water was frigidly cold and she came out shouting pretty fast while everyone else laughed a bit. 

“It’s late autumn! What did you expect?” Finn said as she came out of the tent a few minutes later in dry clothes, shivering a bit. 

“I didn’t think it’d be  _ that  _ cold,” Oak said. 

  
  


“Well, there’s an ocean current that runs down from the Kingdom of Snows and along this coast line. Whales and the like seem to follow it along but it does bring a lot of cold water with it. Now, if we were by Bright Moon, you probably still could get in the water. There’s a current that keeps the temperature there pretty mild,” Izzy said. 

Artho was laughing and said, “And we did try to warn you.”

“Izzy, thank you. Sister, I don’t need an I told you so from you,” Oak said as she sat down and tried not to shiver. 

“I told you so,” Finn said. “And even though she’s not going to say it, Izzy did as well.” 

Oak looked at Izzy and she gave a small smile and looked away. 

“You all should have gone in with me,” Oak said. “It would have been the proper thing to do for The Team.”

“No, we should have stayed on the shore like we did because the water is freezing cold.  _ That’s _ the proper thing,” Artho said, sporadically laughing.

That night they sat by a small driftwood fire watching the phosphorescent waves changing colors as they struck the shore. Izzy was finishing up her letter she’d started right after dinner and had finally signed it when Finn said, “Iz, why are the waves glowing like that?” 

“Magic,” she said simply as she looked over the letter.

Finn looked at her and said, “Really?” 

She looked up and nodded her head. 

“I looked it up earlier. There’s some places where the water glows because of little animals in the water but here, it’s a release of magic. That’s why it’s so many different colors,” Izzy said. “It apparently can get really bright when the moons are aligned right.”

Artho, leaned back looking out to sea, said, “Well, I’m glad it’s not that time then. It’s just bright enough for good mood lighting.” 

Oak leaned over to Izzy and said, “So, did you get the letter done?” 

Izzy nodded as she folded it up and stuck it in an envelope. Everyone was silent and watching her. She looked up and flinched a little at the attention. 

“You all want to know what I said don’t you?” she said.

Finn shrugged and said, “It’s between you and her.” 

“Finn’s being polite,” Artho said. “I want to know but I’m not going to push you on it.”

She looked at the envelope for a moment and then back to the group.

“I took your advice Oak and started easy. Told her about why we’re out traveling around and a little bit about all of you. I… I hope you don’t mind,” Izzy said a bit nervously as the three smiled at her and assured her it was fine. “She’d talked about how she felt like she’d screwed up in her letter. I agreed with her that she did screw up, terribly, and that it’s going to take time for me to trust her. I mentioned some things she did and how they hurt me and I’m going to see how she responds. That was kind of the end of the letter.”

Oak said, “Sounds like you got it down.” 

“Only took all day,” Izzy said with a shake of her head.

“Well it could be worse,” Finn said as they looked up to watch a shooting star streak across the sky.

“How?” Izzy said. 

Finn looked down at her and said, “I could not have you.” 

Izzy blushed furiously as Artho groaned and tossed a small pebble at Finn. 

“What did I say when we left Bright Moon?” she said. 

“Sorry, wasn’t paying attention then, not paying attention now. Most of my attention is reserved for Izzy,” Finn said with a grin. 

Oak tossed another stick on the fire and just shook her head with a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't seen yet, I started, and finished, another series with Finn and their moms. It's different from this, a bit darker and more action filled, and I deviate from my version of post-season five canon. Now I have to get back into writing this Finn but I'm looking forward to it. That being said, I thought I was one chapter further along and almost posted a spoiler in the tags but you'll find out when I post the NEXT chapter. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy The Team chilling on the beach.


	17. I Am a Part of All That I Have Met

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team gets ready to head on to Dava by way of Dryl as they continue on the trail of Blu and Kiwi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

They were set to leave the next day but ended up stuck in the tent for another three days as a rainstorm blew through. They sent out the necessary messages about the delay so no one would worry and then they sat around a table inside the tent playing endless rounds of cards. As they did, they told stories to pass the time, Finn in the theater, Izzy infodumping about things that popped up in her head, Oak and Artho growing up exploring the Fright Zone and Plumeria, and at first they were alright but by the end of the third day, they were all starting to get a bit antsy. 

“You know, the skiff can easily fly in this,” Artho said as she tossed down her hand of cards as Izzy raked in the small pebbles they were using as counters. 

“Oh no, we’re not doing another run like that,” Finn said as they started shuffling the cards. “We can wait.” 

“I don’t mean tonight,” Artho said. “I mean in the morning.” 

Oak lifted a flap of the tent and said, “I can’t even see the top of the hills above the village. Even if we fly in daytime, it’s going to be rough. Let’s just sit it out. We’re not trying to meet a deadline.” 

Artho sighed and said, “I know, you’re right. Seriously though, we need to do something other than cards though. It’s driving me up the wall and this wall isn’t very sturdy.”

Izzy was carefully arranging her large pile of pebbles as she said, “I don’t mind. Reminds me of evenings with Grandma. She loves playing cards and tried to get me into them as well.” 

“Which explains why you’re destroying the rest of us,” Finn said with a laugh.

“I’m not kidding,” Artho said. “What’s the plan moving forward?”

Izzy leaned back in her chair, pulled her notebook out, flipped to a page, and said, “Well, we go first to Dryl from here. Finn, we were going to go there first anyway but let's not forget your Mom asked us to check up and see if they’d heard anything about Princess Entrapta and Hordak. I’ve checked the map and Dava is about half a day past Dryl. We can hit Dryl, ask around, and be in Dava by nightfall.” 

“We have it easier this time,” Finn said. “Mom said the clones have a council in Dryl. Maybe we can even ask if they know if anyone has names like we’re looking for living in Dava.”

Artho snorted and said, “I prefer that method instead of hoping Finn is just going to stumble over the person they’re looking for and then going running off leaving the rest of us deeply confused.” 

“Not going to let me live that down are you?” Finn said.

“Not a chance,” Artho said. 

“Alright, so we leave when the weather breaks,” Oak said. “After Dava, are we still headed back to Bright Moon?” 

“That’s the plan,” Izzy said. “Although…”

“Yeah, nothing has gone to plan so far,” Oak said with a grin. “But such is the life of a bold adventurer.” 

“Or someone who’s flailing about with minimal clues,” Artho said.

“From what I’ve heard from listening to the stories the elders in our life tell, that’s the same thing,” Finn said. 

Izzy held up a sheet in her notepad with the schedule. It was full of crossed out words, places, and times and said, “If nothing else, I’m learning to be flexible.” 

“I think we all are,” Finn said with a nod and then started dealing out cards to Artho’s quiet groan. “Same game as last time.” 

Later that night, after they’d all been asleep for a few hours, they all woke up. 

“Has the rain stopped?” Oak said, poking her head out of her sleeping bag. 

Finn saw Izzy sit up in the dim light of the moons illuminating the tent fabric as Artho stared upwards and said, “It sure sounds like it and I’m guessing the clouds are gone since the moons are out.” 

“Then we leave in the morning?” Finn said.

“Yes, and on that note, I’m going back to sleep,” Artho said as she rolled over.

Finn watched as Izzy reached down towards her satchel and with a grin said, “Iz, you can update the schedule in the morning.”

Izzy jumped a bit and then gave a grin back at Finn as she pulled her hand back and lay back down. The next morning though, Finn woke up to Izzy tucking the notebook away. 

“Please tell me you actually slept last night,” Finn said with a yawn. 

“Of course I did,” Izzy said with a little smile. “But Artho woke me up leaving the tent before daybreak.” 

“Why?” Finn said as they reached over to shake Oak awake.

Izzy shrugged but didn’t say anything. They all got an answer shortly afterwards as Artho came back into the tent. 

“Alright, checked the weather all the way to Dryl,” Artho said. “Should be clear. The Dryl landing beacon is full-time so no worries there, we’ll be flying low enough we don’t have to worry about any traffic from the spaceport near Dryl, and it looks like the clouds are pretty much gone so we have an unlimited ceiling all the way in.”

Finn, packing up a few things, looked at her and said, “Artho, it’s like I don’t even know you anymore.” 

Artho gave a little shy grin and said, “Hey, I can be old or I can be bold. I know which one I prefer.” 

Oak stepped in behind her sister and said, “Glad to hear it now stop yapping and help us get packed up.” 

Artho gave her sister a little swipe with her tail and then ducked back as she tried to smack her and Izzy started laughing as Finn shook their head and said, “No! Cut it out! Come on! Pack! PACK!”

Not much longer later they had the tent down and were packing everything away on the skiff. It had taken a bit of effort to get everything back into the storage on the skiff and Oak stood in front of a hatch in puzzlement as she tried to get the tent in and said, “It fit when we took it out! Why isn’t it now?” 

Finn, having a similar issue with the cots, said, “I have no clue. I’m going to say magic and shove harder.”

After a few false starts they did finally get everything packed away and they gave their site a quick once over to make sure nothing had been left behind. They all climbed on board the skiff as Artho turned on the engine and got ready to lift off. 

“Any last thing you need to do before we leave?” Artho said.

“Well, I did need to see Oak jump into freezing cold water one last time,” Finn said from the front where they and Izzy sat. 

Oak rolled her eyes and Artho gave a laugh and soon they were in the air and flying towards Dryl. The flight was easy, even through the mountains that made up most of the kingdom, and it was only a few hours later that Artho was announcing they were approaching Dryl. 

“There’s the road in,” Artho said. “It goes around that mountain and we should see it when we get around it.”

As they flew around the mountain that Dryl was built into, they saw the distress beacon on top of the castle lit. 

“Why’s the distress beacon lit!?” Finn said in alarm. 

“I don’t know but I’m sure not going to land until we have an idea,” Artho said as she altered course away from the landing pad she’d been homing in on and flew out and away while Oak looked over the side. 

“I can see some people in the outer courtyard standing in rows,” Oak said. “I can’t tell what they’re doing though.” 

Izzy hung onto the side and trained binoculars on them. 

“They’re clones,” Izzy said. “And it looks like they’re all talking at once.” 

“Do you see anyone attacking? Anything dangerous?” Finn said. 

Oak and Izzy both shook their heads. 

“Artho, can you land us on the road going up to it?” Finn said. 

“It’s a bit tight with the overhang but it should be doable,” Artho said. 

Artho managed to set them down not too far from the gates along the road. The gates sat open and as soon as the noise of the skiff and the wind cleared from everyone’s ears they could hear, coming from the castle, the sounds of singing. It was high pitched almost past the edge of their hearing and it felt slow and mournful.

Oak shivered and said, “That’s… that’s kind of creepy.”

As a shiver ran down Finn’s back they remembered that Entrapta had been out in space and no one had heard from her or Hordak in months and that was part of the reason they’d stopped in Dryl. 

“I think something’s happened to Entrapta and Hordak,” Finn said. 

“How do you know?” Artho said. 

“I don’t. I just know that my moms have been worried because no one has heard from them in months. I know they were going to try and go out past the edge of known space. And then this…,” Finn said as they gestured at the castle. 

Izzy nodded and said, “It makes sense. Let’s go in. If nothing else, just so we don’t land and then turn around and bolt.” 

As they walked closer, the singing got louder. When they reached the outer gates, there was a clone sitting in what would be considered a guard booth except the gates hadn’t been closed since the Fall of Prime. Ever since it had served as a welcome booth for visitors. The clone was crying but stumbled to his feet to greet the four. 

“I’m sorry for my state. This is not a good time,” the clone said as he stood up. “I am Eld and it is my duty to help you.” 

Finn stepped forward and said, “You don’t have to apologize. My name is Finn. Entrapta is my aunt. We’re traveling and saw the beacon lit. What’s happened? Can we help?” 

Eld’s green eyes filled with tears and he said, “We have received word that he has fallen months ago! He has gone beyond our reach! Our Brother, whom we love, has died!” 

Eld slumped to the ground against the outside of the guard booth as the singing reached new heights, the sharp high notes drawing goosebumps from the four, and Finn quickly knelt down beside Eld as he wept.

“Hordak?” Finn said quietly, a sick feeling in their chest.

Eld nodded. 

“And Entrapta?” Finn said.

“Brother Entrapta transmitted to us of his death. She lives but we do not know when, or if, she will ever return!” Eld said.

Finn looked back at the other three and felt tears pooling in their eyes. Oak had her head buried in Izzy’s shoulder and Artho had her hand over her mouth and her eyes were full of sorrow. Finn knew what they had to do.

“Eld, go and be with your brothers. We’ll watch the gate for you,” Finn said. 

“I can not ask you to take my task from me,” Eld said. “We have set aside many tasks today but Brother Hordak and Brother Entrapta were always insistent that the gate be open for all and that someone is here to welcome anyone that may come so this is a necessary task.” 

“You didn’t ask. I’m offering. It’s alright,” Finn said. “Seriously, we’ll watch the gate and welcome anyone that arrives. Be with your brothers.”

Eld nodded as they stood up and said, “Thank you.” 

Eld straightened himself up and then flawlessly joined into the singing as he walked through the gates to join the line of his brothers. 

Finn sat on the ground and leaned back against the booth as they wiped at their eyes. 

“I wonder what happened?” Finn said quietly. 

The others joined them and sat down beside them. Artho said, “He’s had health problems as long as I’ve known him. Probably just a matter of take a pick of what finally happened.” 

Oak sat down on the ground as tears ran down her cheeks. 

“I know a lot of people hate him still but I liked him. He was always very quiet when he’d visit but he also put up with a lot of shouting from us kids along with a whole bunch of annoying questions,” Oak said. “Never raised his voice or anything.” 

Izzy put her arm around Finn as Finn said, “Entrapta was always the chatty one. I do know he was really good at giving out the best one-liners though.” 

Artho gave a sad smile and said, “I know what you mean. He’d be sitting there, conversation would be going around him, and then he’d just drop something in that’d have you cracking up.”

Finn said, “Yep. I thought for the longest time that he didn’t know what he was doing because his humor was so dry. Then I said something to Mother about it one day, because I kind of felt bad about laughing at it, and she said he was 100% doing it on purpose. Then Mom told me that he had dropped some poetry on her once that just completely caught her off guard. I wish I’d known him better.” 

Oak and Artho nodded in agreement as the conversation lulled and they listened to the singing as it continued onwards. 

“What is that?” Oak said. 

Izzy said, “I think it’s a clone dirge. If it is we’re not even hearing all of it. Some of it is out of our hearing range from what I’ve read.” 

“What do we do?” Artho said.

Finn said, “Well, I need to call my moms and let them know what happened. Then we’re going to work this booth so they don’t have to worry about it.”

“Finn, I’ve heard a clone funeral can go on for a while. Couple days at least. They have multiple ceremonies they call remembrances,” Artho said. “And it sounds like they just found out. Are you sure about this?” 

“I want to find Kiwi and Blu but you saw Eld. He was torn up that he couldn’t stand with his brothers. Besides, even though we weren’t real close, Hordak was our uncle and this is his funeral. I want to be here for it and we can help. So we’re going to,” Finn said. 

Oak nodded in agreement and Izzy gave Finn’s shoulders a squeeze as Artho stood up. 

“Well I’ll move the skiff up close to here then. You call people to let them know and then we’ll figure out what next when I get back,” Artho said. 

Oak stood up and stepped inside the booth to sit down on the chair inside. Izzy pulled the data pad out and handed it to Finn. Finn fiddled with it for a moment before looking at Izzy. 

“I don’t want to have to tell them,” Finn said. 

“I’m here with you,” Izzy said. 

“I know. It’s just… Mom and Mother have known him their whole lives pretty much. I don’t want to be the one to tell them and hurt them,” Finn said. 

“I think they already have an idea or they wouldn’t have asked you to check in person,” Izzy said. 

Finn nodded as they said, “You’re probably right. Ok, I need to get it done. Here we go.” 

Finn hit the call button as they took a deep breath.

When the call came, Adora was sitting down at the kitchen table with Catra for lunch.

“You made too much again,” Adora said as she took food from a central plate on the table.

Catra sighed and said, “I know, I know. Got too used to making food for three over all these years. I do it without thinking now. I had the same problem making up the shopping list the other night.” 

Adora leaned over to give her a kiss and said, “It’s alright. It’s not going to be forever. They’ll be back home eventually.” 

Catra shook her head and said, “But they’re going to move on eventually. Finn’s pretty much grown now. They’ll want to move out eventually.” 

Adora nodded and said, “Well, it’s what we set out to do all those years ago. Get them to adulthood. I guess we did.”

Catra gave a thin smile, remembering standing near a dark alley and making the decision to take Finn in as easy as breathing, as she said, “I don’t regret it at all. I’m just not ready to let go but I guess I don’t get to make that decision.” 

“I don’t either,” Adora said. “We’ll make it through. We always do.” 

Catra nodded as she took a bite and the data pad started chiming. She looked at where it was hung on the wall and laughed and said, “Well I guess the universe was listening. Finn’s calling.” 

Adora stood up and brought the pad over to the table as she answered. 

Finn saw the two come on camera, full of smiles and hellos. They could see the backyard behind the two and felt a deep stab of homesickness and sadness. They watched as both of their faces got concerned. 

“Finn, what’s wrong?” they heard Adora say. 

“Mom… uh… we’re at Dryl,” Finn said and then stopped. Izzy hugged them and placed her head on their shoulder for comfort. 

“Go on,” she whispered to Finn. 

“What is going on in the background that I hear? It sounds like a clone funeral,” Catra said. 

Finn nodded and said, “It is. Entrapta made contact. Hordak… he’s… he died.” 

Adora covered her mouth and Catra looked down at the ground. Both felt tears beginning to start.

“What happened?” Catra said quietly. 

“I don’t know. We got here and I think they just found out. We’re watching the booth at the gate so Eld, the clone that was watching it, could go and be with his brothers,” Finn said. “We haven’t been able to really ask around.” 

“Are you alright?” Adora said. 

Finn nodded, feeling a few tears try to well up, and said, “I’m ok. Are you?” 

Adora had reached out at the same time as Catra and they were clutching their hands under the table. They both shook their heads and said at the same time, “No.”

Finn gave a short smile at the two being in sequence and as always not seeming to even really realize it as Catra continued. 

“We need to let everyone know. We’re probably going to be coming out there as soon as we can,” she said.

“I can call them if you don’t want to deal with it,” Finn said after taking a deep breath. 

Adora shook her head and said, “We’re not going to ask you to do that. I’m sorry you had to be the one to tell us. Izzy are you alright?” 

Izzy nodded and said, “I’m alright. Artho is getting the skiff squared away and Oak is in the booth.” 

Finn held the data pad up and Oak gave a short wave before bringing it back down. 

“Ok, keep us up to date by message on anything you hear. We’re going to make the calls and try to be out there by the evening,” Adora said. 

“Alright. I love you both,” Finn said. 

“We love you all too,” Catra said. 

After the call ended, Izzy sat with her head on Finn’s shoulder as Artho walked up. 

“Did you call?” Artho said as they settled in beside them. 

“Yep. They’re going to call everyone and are going to try and get out here tonight. I assume with Glimmer’s help,” Finn said. 

“Probably,” Artho said. After a brief pause she continued and said, “It doesn’t seem quite real yet.” 

“His passing?” Izzy said. 

Artho nodded. 

“I’ve read it’s because the mind takes a bit to process it. There’s thought that says that’s why funerals are so important. They give a marker between what was and what is so the mind has something to help cope,” Izzy said. 

Oak leaned forward and looked over the side at them and said, “Have any of you ever been to one before?” 

Finn shook their head and Artho did as well but Izzy spoke up and said, “I have but I was really young. I didn’t know what was going on. It was for an aunt I didn’t really know because Emma and Bryce didn’t like her. They went basically to show off.” 

“Well I think this will be different than that,” Oak said.

“I feel kind of weird being here to be honest,” Izzy said. “I didn’t know him at all, just what’s in the history books.” 

Artho gave a snort and said, “Yeah, he was like that but not really either if that makes any sense.” 

Finn said, “You know it kind of does to me but then again, I knew him.” 

“Tell me about him?” Izzy asked. 

They didn’t know where to start at first. As the clones continued their singing from the courtyard, Oak sat up on the counter of the booth and started it off but it sounded almost like a history lesson at first. Artho jumped in and started telling a story about one of her first memories about Hordak. That led to Finn talking about him and soon the three were going back and forth trading memories. Some of them were funny, some sad in hindsight, but slowly Izzy began to feel like she had an idea of what Hordak had been like. They talked about Entrapta as well and told Izzy stories of her and then the two of them together. There were tears as they remembered him but some laughter as well. 

“I wish I could have met him,” Izzy said during a lull in the conversation. 

“He’s… well, was, I guess, an interesting guy,” Finn said. “Entrapta as well. I remember when I first met her I was  _ obsessed _ with her hair. Mom and Mother were trying to tell me that I could call her Aunt Entrapta and I was barely paying attention because I was so fascinated with the hair whipping every which way. 

“She said she didn’t know why I would call her aunt because she wasn’t either of their sisters and they explained the whole idea of close family friends being called aunt or whatever and she got all excited. Started talking about research on found families and stuff and they said, ‘Oh so you get it.’ And she laughed and said she did but she thought it was too long and to just call her Entrapta. I don’t know why I never called Hordak uncle though. I don’t remember ever doing it.” 

Oak nodded and said, “I tried to call Hordak uncle once and he just stared at me for a minute and then said, ‘No.’ I asked Mom about it later and she said he really disliked titles of any kind. I didn’t push why, I just let it go.” 

They sat quietly for a moment, lost in thought, when the clones suddenly stopped singing and began moving about. Eld returned to the booth with another clone. The Team stood up, Oak jumping off the counter, and Eld seemed more composed. 

“Thank you for taking my duty,” Eld said as he stopped in front of them. “This is my Brother Lesseai. He is here to take the duty.” 

Oak said, “We can cover it for you all. We don’t mind.” 

Lesseai spoke and said, “I appreciate it but that is not necessary. The next ceremony for Brother Hordak will not begin until the evening. Brother Eld said who you are and I know that you need time to mourn as well.”

Finn said, “We mourn in our own way. If we can help you mourn in your way by taking this duty from you, we don’t mind.” 

“Thank you,” Lesseai said. “But we would welcome you to the ceremony this evening.”

Finn looked at the other three, who just shrugged at him. They turned back and said, “I don’t know what to say.” 

Eld said, “Please say you will. You knew Brother Hordak. It’s right that you should be there as well to give remembrance.” 

Finn nodded their head and then saw a flash of pink and purple reflect against the open gate. They all turned to see Glimmer standing with Bow, Capella, Catra, and Adora. Catra was shaking her head and bent over a little. 

“And that's why I don't teleport,” Catra said and then looked up for a moment. “At least those four won’t be hard to find though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a headcanon of mine for a while that clones don't take the death of one of their own lightly. No one hour funeral, a few hours sitting around after talking and then back to life for them. They were treated as disposable for centuries. They won't do that again. I waffled on tagging this as major character death because technically that's in another fic I wrote (Good-Bye, Lab Partner) but in the end, I felt it was right.


	18. His honor and His toil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hordak has passed and the clones of Dryl are paying their respects and the princesses and others who knew him are arriving as well to do the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Finn saw their moms and went over to them for hugs immediately. Izzy stood a little awkwardly off to the side for a second before Adora hooked an arm around her and pulled her into the hug. Artho and Oak were hugging Glimmer and Bow while Capella stared up at the blinking distress beacon and the ominous castle. 

“This place is creepy,” she said. Everyone looked at her for a moment and then gave a little round of laughter. 

“I forgot, we’ve never brought you here before,” Bow said as he gave her a hug. “It’s ok. Just don’t wander off. The castle is a maze; you’ll get lost really fast.” 

“Why don’t they get lost?” she said, pointing at Lesseai who had stepped back but was coming their way. 

“Because it is our home and we know it well,” Lesseai said with a smile at Capella. Capella looked at him and then nodded.

“I live at Bright Moon and it has all kinds of places in it but I never get lost there,” she said.

“Because it is your home. I understand,” Lesseai said before straightening up and addressing The Team. “Thank you again for allowing Brother Eld to attend by taking his duty for him.” 

Finn felt Catra and Adora give their shoulder a squeeze as they said, “It was something we could do. We’re happy to help.” 

“Brother Entrapta has said that all are welcome in her castle and so I’m glad to say that you are welcome here but that we will not be able to help as we are mourning the loss of our Brother Hordak,” Lesseai replied. 

Glimmer stepped forward and said in her official tone of voice, “That’s why we have come as well. Hordak was a friend of ours and we’ve come to give proper remembrances for him.” 

Lesseai nodded and said, “So do you come in your official capacity as Queen of Bright Moon?” 

“I do,” Glimmer responded. 

“Then I welcome you on behalf of the Kingdom of Dryl,” Lesseai said. “All courtesy will be extended.”

Glimmer shook her head and said, “None will be needed but I appreciate the offer. You have enough going on. Simply let us know when each remembrance begins and we will attend.” 

Lesseai nodded and said, “We have one that will begin at nightfall.” 

“Thank you,” Glimmer responded. “I am going to be leaving shortly and on my return I will be bringing back the Princesses of Plumeria, the Fright Zone, the Kingdom of Snows, Salineas, and the head sorcerer of Mystacor along with their retinues. Queen Angella and King Micah are unable to travel due to health concerns but send their condolences. I also request permission for us to set up camp alongside the road here.” 

Lesseai looked a bit wide-eyed as Glimmer had gone down the list of people and then shook his head and said, “That won’t be necessary. We can find accommodations for you in Dryl.” 

Glimmer smiled and said, “Thank you but we plan to leave the castle for others who will be coming soon.”

Lesseai’s ears twitched once and then said, “I don’t understand. What others?” 

As if in answer there was the sound of multiple sonic booms high overhead and everyone except Glimmer turned to look upwards to see contrails streaking through the sky.

“There were three clone ships passing through the Etherian system when we received the news of Hordak’s passing,” Glimmer said. “I notified them of his passing and they altered course to be here. I believe those are the shuttles from the first one breaking into the atmosphere to land at the spaceport nearby. I expect they should all be here by nightfall and it is only right they stay in the castle with their brothers.” 

Lesseai stood with open mouth and then said, “We should have known they were there but…”

“You were busy honoring the memory of Hordak. I understand. I’m glad I was able to help,” Glimmer said. 

Lesseai nodded then and said, “Then as it is your wish I, on behalf of the Council, of course grant you permission to set up wherever you please. If you will excuse me please, I must go and make preparations for my brothers.” 

“I understand. I must go and bring in those I’ve mentioned as well,” Glimmer said. “Thank you for your hospitality to us.” 

Lesseai placed a hand on their chest and then turned and walked away. Finn and the rest were looking at Glimmer with a bit of awe. 

“What?” Glimmer said when she turned and noticed.

No one quite knew what to say except Capella who chimed in with, “Mom, why were you talking like that? You sounded all weird.” 

Glimmer laughed as she said, “If you ever paid attention at official events, sweetheart, you would know that’s my official Queen voice.” 

“If they weren’t so dull, I would pay attention,” Capella said. 

Bow snorted and said, “You want me to come along with you, Glim?” 

“Nope, it’ll be hard enough jumping with everyone and their stuff, no reason to add more,” Glimmer said, pulling Bow down for a quick kiss. “I’ll be back soon. Find us a good place to set up.” 

She disappeared in a burst of sparkles and Bow turned to Finn and said, “Well you were first here. Got any advice on where we can get set up?” 

Finn stepped back and put their arm around Izzy and said, “Izzy is our logistics person. You’ll need to speak with her.” 

Bow turned with a smile to Izzy who stammered out, “Well… uh, that’s… really I just handle the broad… you know, overview. Oak! Oak is the person you want to talk to! Quite the woman of action she is!” 

Oak laughed and said, “And she’s not wrong there! Come on, Uncle Bow. Help me get our tent out and we’ll get it set up. Have any idea how many we need to get around it?” 

Bow went walking off with Oak, Capella trailing along with them asking questions. Artho shook her head and started walking off as she said, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go along to make sure they don’t mess up the tarp I’ve got over the skiff.”

They left just Catra, Adora, Finn, and Izzy standing in the road. 

“It’s good to see you all. We’ve missed you,” Adora said, giving Finn and Izzy a hug again.

“We have. And you’ve been together non-stop for weeks now so I gotta ask. You sick of Finn yet, Izzy?” Catra said with a grin. 

Izzy shook her head and gave a small smile. 

“I’ve managed to put up with them quite well, Ms. Applesauce,” she said. 

Finn looked at her with surprise before busting out with laughter. Catra and Adora both looked surprised as well before laughing. 

Catra shook her head ruefully and said, “Well it would seem that somewhere along the way Finn has infected you with their attitude but I have to admit, I love it.” 

The four talked for a little bit and then went over to help with the tent as the others came back. Then Glimmer started bringing in the rest with their equipment and it became a happy bedlam as everyone pitched in to get everything set up. At one point, Izzy had to step inside their tent. Finn was busy helping put up Scorpia and Perfuma’s massive tent and didn’t notice but Catra did and she went over to check on her.

“You alright?” Catra said as she stuck her head in the flaps. 

Izzy was sitting down on one of the cots taking a few deep breaths and Catra’s appearance startled her a little. 

“Didn’t mean to startle you. Do I need to leave?” Catra said. 

“No, it’s alright. Just a few too many people all at once. I’m getting used to all the people you have around you but sometimes it’s still a bit much,” Izzy said. 

“Going to get even more crowded soon,” Catra said as they heard another shuttle boom overhead headed for the spaceport. 

Izzy gave a little shake of her head and said, “I’ll deal with that when it comes.” 

Catra sat down on another cot and said, “Can I ask you something?” 

Izzy said, “Sure. What is it?” 

Catra looked at the tent flap and then back to Izzy and said a little quieter, “Is Finn holding up? Are they doing alright with all of this?” 

Izzy nodded and said, “They’re doing good I think.” 

Catra waited a moment and then said, “They haven’t had any bad reactions at all?” 

Izzy hemmed and hawed for a moment before saying, “After we ran into Snow-by, they had a hard time of it for a little bit but they’re doing alright. Honestly, I’ve had a harder time dealing with the whole Emma thing I think but everyone has been there for me just like we were there for Finn.” 

“I can imagine that’s rough. Well, keep an eye on each other is all I can say,” Catra said. “Alright, well I’m going to go help out some more before Adora gets tangled up in something.” 

As she stood to leave, Izzy suddenly said, “Catra, can I ask you something?” 

Catra stopped and turned around, her tail swishing a little as she said, “Sure. What’s on your mind?” 

Izzy almost didn’t ask but then quietly said, “When I met with Emma the first time, she said something that made me so mad, I almost punched her.”

Catra waited to see what else she was going to say but nothing came out. 

“Well, since that wasn’t really a question, I’m guessing you want me to pass judgement on that,” Catra said. 

Izzy was looking down but nodded. Catra said, “Did you?” 

Izzy shook her head. Catra stepped over and knelt down in front of her. 

“Look at me please,” Catra said gently. Izzy looked up into Catra’s eyes and Catra hugged her and then leaned back with both of her hands on Izzy’s shoulders. 

“Izzy, I know you read a lot. If you haven’t read anything about me I’d be surprised so when I say I know anger and hate, you know it’s true. I know it’s easy to give in, let the anger do the talking especially when you feel like you’ve been wronged, but you didn’t. Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Catra said as Izzy looked at her and Catra squeezed her shoulders. “You did the right thing and I’m proud of you for it.” 

Izzy started crying a little and Catra held her tight as she did. 

“Thank you,” Izzy whispered before Catra could say anything.

“Of course,” Catra said. 

Finn stuck their head in the tent at that point to see Izzy in tears. 

“What’s wrong?” Finn said as they quickly came forward. 

“Nothing, just a bit of stress,” Catra said as Izzy nodded agreement and wiped at her eyes.

Finn sat down next to Izzy and she leaned into Finn as they wrapped her in their arms. Catra hugged them both and gave Finn a quick kiss between their ears. 

“Izzy, do you need me for anything else?” she asked. 

“No. And thank you, again,” Izzy said as she wiped at her tears. 

“Anytime,” Catra said as she left the tent.

“What happened?” Finn said. 

Izzy told Finn what had happened and then said, “She told me she was proud of me. That’s what got me.” 

She started to tear up thinking of it again but stood up instead as she wiped at her eyes. 

“Iz?” Finn said uncertainly. 

“I’m ok. I just need to get out there and start getting stuff together,” Izzy said. 

“It’s alright. Most of it is almost done. Everyone is gathering together in Aunt Scorpia and Aunt Perfuma’s tent right now,” Finn said. “It’s the only one big enough for the whole crowd.”

Izzy thought of all those people crammed in and her face blanched. Before Finn could offer not to go she set her shoulders and said, “Alright. Let’s go and mingle then.” 

Finn stood with a little grin and said, “Iz, you said that like you were announcing you were going to go face off against an enemy.” 

As they got out and walked towards the other tent, vehicles and skiffs were coming in, loaded with clones and Finn wondered where in the world they were all fitting as they went into Dryl. As they entered and started to mingle, with Izzy sticking close to Finn but doing her very best to try and say hello to everyone. She finally got to meet Tern as Frosta introduced Izzy to her other spouse and they spent a few minutes talking. All the time they could still hear the traffic going past and soon one of the clones came into the tent and announced that the next remembrance would be beginning soon. He introduced himself as Priz and said that he was the head of the clone council for Dryl and would be with them for the rest of the remembrances. 

They all filed out and followed Priz into Dryl. Catra looked around remembering the first time she’d spent there, the place still looking the same as it did when she had briefly occupied it years before. The rest of the older folks were doing the same, thinking of memories they had of the place. The clones were lining up in every possible place. Catra and Glimmer shared a brief nervous glance at each other as they were brought to what seemed to be their assigned place. Even though the clones no longer wore the white tabard of Prime, having that many row upon row around them brought back deeply unpleasant memories. They both took deep breaths at the same time and let them out and resisted the urge to go back to back with each other. 

The ceremony began without much in the way of preamble. One moment the clones were standing quietly and the next they were signing in the language of their long past ancestors. Finn failed to see anything that indicated time to start but listened as they sang a dirge. Izzy, eyes wide, strived to take in the whole thing. Artho and Oak, with their little siblings around them, stood with Finn and Izzy and whispered to their younger siblings occasionally what was going on. Priz sang along and Finn could hear parts of the song he sang soar up and out of range of Finn’s hearing. The whole song was never completely out of range as multiple groups seemed to be singing different parts that harmonized together. 

At one point, Finn looked up and saw a crowd of clones standing at the gate, slowly piling up as more and more arrived and Finn felt their fur rise in goosebumps as the song slowly stopped being individual groups and gathered into one large crescendo before fading away. Everyone stood in silence and it stretched out for some time, long enough that Finn carefully looked around at everyone in the group, trying to see if the clones were waiting on something from them. Then Finn heard someone begin to speak. At first they couldn’t hear the first few words and then some hidden public address system picked up the voice and amplified it across the castle. 

“I loved Brother Hordak,” the voice said. “I will not forget him. I remember a time that he was here with Brother Entrapta and something had gone wrong on one of their experiments that I was helping them with. He’d yelled and then brooded for a little bit. He looked at me after a few minutes and had said, ‘I apologize, Brother. That was not directed at you. I hope you forgive me.’ I will always remember that. He was always mindful of his anger and strived to deal with it. I love Brother Hordak. May his memory live on with us.” 

Slowly clones came forward and said their memories of Hordak. The stories varied, depending on how well known they’d known Hordak, but each one was heartfelt and while they took no effort to wash away his flaws they also showed the good side of the man. It went on for several hours and Finn found that the image in their mind of Hordak was being reinforced as they learned new things about him while also having old memories brought up and polished off. Finn watched as Catra and Adora went from their default of holding hands to slowly putting an arm around the other and then finally holding each other. 

“Moms, are you alright?” Finn said quietly as another voice spoke about their memories. 

Adora looked at Finn, eyes red as she stroked the back of Catra’s head buried on her shoulder, and nodded. 

“You don’t look ok,” Finn said. 

“We had a complicated relationship with him. This isn’t easy,” Adora said. 

Finn wrapped their arms around the both of them and said, “Do we need to go? Do you need to talk with me about it?” 

Finn heard Catra snort a little and look up at Finn, eyes puffy, as she said, “Kiddo, that’s our line to you.” 

“And it’s my turn to say the same to you,” Finn said. 

Catra cupped the side of Finn’s face and said, “We’re ok. Well, not ok, but we can manage.” 

“My offer stands,” Finn said as the clones suddenly started singing again. They went back to stand besides Izzy, who had Capella up on her shoulders so she could see out over the crowd. 

“Are they alright?” Izzy said over the singing. 

“Very obviously no but they’re managing,” Finn said. “How about you, Capella?”

She nodded before she said, “Is Hordak really gone?” 

Finn nodded and she rested her head on Izzy’s head in thought and didn’t say anything else. Finn took Izzy’s hand as Artho and Oak came over to put their arms around them as their siblings stood around them. The song didn't last quite as long as the first and as it finally came to a conclusion the clones started breaking apart and milling about. The other princesses came and stood around the kids chatting for a few minutes before Glimmer stepped over from where she’d been speaking with Priz. 

“Alright, I am going to go and talk with Priz and the rest of the council. Bow’s going with me but other than that, nothing else is going on until right before daybreak,” Glimmer said. 

The group started to head back out to their site when Glimmer turned to The Team. 

“Can I ask you to watch Capella while we do this?” she asked. 

“Sure, we don’t mind,” Oak responded. 

“You didn’t ask  _ me _ , Mom,” Capella said with a withering look from Izzy’s shoulders.

“Well since you’re attached to Izzy I didn’t think you’d mind,” Glimmer said. 

“You should always ask though,” Capella said loftily. 

Glimmer rolled her eyes, smiling as she did, and said, “Capella, do you want to go with them and have fun or would you rather come to a meeting where you’ll have to sit quietly for hours listening to your Dad and I talk about boring stuff?” 

“I’ll go with them. Was that so hard to ask though?” Capella said. 

Bow came over and gave her a kiss and Glimmer gave a quick flap of her wings to get off the ground to give her one as well. Back at the tents, The Team’s tent became the place to hang out for the kids who were all full of questions about what they’d been doing. Oak was in her element as she told stories about what they’d done and what they were planning to do.

“Iz, is it alright with you if I step out to check on my moms?” Finn said. 

Izzy, sitting on her cot with Capella and watching the kids packed into the tent, said, “Sure. If I get too overwhelmed, I’ll just step outside.” 

Finn stepped out of the tent. Catra and Adora had set their tent up next to The Teams but when Finn poked their head in, they weren’t there. Finn checked a few of the other tents and ran into Castaspella coming out of one with her wife, Juliet. 

“Finn! I haven’t seen you in ages!” Castaspella said. “And you haven’t even introduced me to your friend either.” 

“Hey, Aunt Casta,” Finn said as they gave her a hug. “I’m sorry. I’ll try and introduce you later. You know how it is.” 

“No, I don’t,” Castaspella said. “But that’s alright. I’ve lived a long life; I know how to deal with the little trials life throws my way.”

“Cass, stop giving them grief,” Juliet said with a grin and a shake of her head that caused her long silver streaked hair to catch the light. “It’s good to see you, Finn.” 

Finn switched to a hug with Juliet and said, “It’s good to see you as well, Aunt Juliet. I’m out here looking for my moms. You haven’t seen them have you?” 

“Saw them a little bit ago headed that way,” Juliet responded, pointing up the road. 

“What’s that way? Is someone set up over there?” Finn said. 

“Not that I’m aware,” Juliet said. 

Finn shrugged and said, “Alright, I hate to cut and run but I need to check up with them.” 

“Well, only if you promise that you’ll come visit soon. I know you’re off on this grand adventure but even grand adventurers need to take a break and see their aged aunts,” Castaspella said with a grin. 

“I promise,” Finn said. “I can’t say when but I promise we’ll drop in as soon as we can and you can meet Izzy then. I think she’d love to see Mystacor.”

Juliet gave a long suffering sigh and said, “Alright, if that’s the best we can get.” 

Finn responded with a laugh as they said, “So it is true. The longer you stay together the more you act like your partner.”

The two laughed as Castaspella said, “You definitely have your Mother’s cheek. Alright, we’ll see you later.” 

Finn went walking up the road the way Juliet had indicated and after not too long came around a turn to find Adora and Catra sitting on the edge of a cliff holding hands and watching the stars. Finn almost turned around then, not wanting to bother them when Adora, without looking behind her, said, “Finn, you walked out here, you might as well come over and sit down.” 

“Sorry, Mom, I didn’t mean to bother you. I just wanted to check in, make sure you both were ok,” Finn said as they sat down next to them. 

“We’re fine, Finn,” Catra said as she watched a faint aurora drift across the sky before disappearing. “It’s like Adora said earlier. He was a friend in the end but that’s not how it started. Then you toss in old memories that don’t even have to do with him and well, it’s not easy.” 

“We’ve both had to deal with our pasts for a long time though,” Adora said. “We’re going to be ok. I promise.” 

Finn smiled at the two as Adora patted their shoulder. Then her face looked troubled as she said, “Wait, where’s Izzy? Did you leave her behind with that crowd?” 

“I did but I asked her first,” Finn said. “She’s starting to get better about handling that. And Oak and Artho are there as well. She’s made good friends with them.” 

Catra said, “I like that. We worry about her just like we worry about you. So she’s doing alright?

Finn nodded and said, “We’ve all had a rough time here and there but she’s doing good. I think we’re all going through some changes but we’re handling it.” 

Adora smiled and said, “Well since it’s just the three of us, it’s my turn to question you. How are you holding up?” 

Finn shrugged and said, “Honestly, not as badly as I thought. I’ve had a few rough patches of course, especially after we ran into Snow-by, but everyone was there for me. I don’t know. The biggest part that I’m worried about right now is what happens if the trail goes cold on me? I mean, that’s the most likely outcome but I’m not sure how I’ll handle it.” 

“Well, the same thing happened to us,” Adora said. “Although you’ve got further than we ever did but you’re right. It might turn into just another wild chase with no real ending. What’s your plan if it doesn’t turn out?” 

“I got further by luck, and as to what I’ll do if it doesn’t work out is probably just turn what we have over to Ledgeren for archiving and move on. Get real serious about the theater more than likely,” Finn said. 

“More serious than you already are?” Catra said with mock surprise. “Are you going to move in there or something?” 

Finn laughed and said, “I mean, it’s a possibility.” 

“Well at least come by to visit sometime,” Adora said with a laugh. 

“I promise you’ll always have free seats, front row center,” Finn said. 

Adora ruffled the fur on their head and said, “That’s good to know, especially since you never charge for your shows.” 

“Makes it easy to promise they’ll be there for you,” Finn said with a little grin before standing up and dusting themself off. “Well I’ll leave you two alone. I love you both.” 

“Love you too,” the two said back. 

As Finn walked off, Catra leaned back on her arms and watched them go. Adora leaned forward with an arm on her raised knee watching as well and Catra gave a little sigh. 

“They look so grown up,” Catra said.

“They  _ are  _ grown up,” Adora said. “We did well.” 

Catra was silent as she watched Finn walk around the turn before saying, “Yeah, we did.”

The two leaned back into each other and went back to watching the stars on the edge of the cliff in peaceful quiet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember when I wrote these chapters, I felt a bit off about them because I felt it's kind of divergent from the main plotline and considered either removing them or making them much shorter. I'm glad I didn't because it setup several different things for me. You'll understand as we go along. :) 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you're enjoying it!


	19. Honour'd of Them All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is at Dryl remembering Hordak. Well, almost everyone, but she's on her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The next two days were full of various ceremonies remembering Hordak. The crowd of people and clones who were at the remembrances were immense, filling the castle and spilling out onto the road. There were even people on little overhangs on the cliff walls looking over the courtyard. Towards mid-day of the third day, as one of the last remembrances was wrapping up, they heard another sonic boom and looked up to see a ship headed towards the castle. Most of the people present recognized it, an older vessel that had originally been patterned after Mara’s original ship when it was built years ago by two people, one of whom they were remembering at that moment. It had been changed and updated continuously by two of the finest minds in the universe and now it was coming in to land at its pad in the courtyard as people cleared away.

The ship landed smooth and easy, the ramp dropping almost before it had even fully settled onto the pad. Emily was the first off, scuttling out with Imp sitting on top. There was a long pause as Finn held their breath, along with the rest of the crowd. They gripped Izzy’s hand tighter and then the small figure of Entrapta, Princess of Dryl, came walking slowly off the ship. 

Her purple hair was wrapped around her, shot through with long streaks of grey, and her mask was down as she stepped carefully onto the ground at the base of the ramp. The mask tracked across the crowd and Finn could see the confusion in her body language. The mask finally settled on Priz standing at the front of the crowd with the clone council and the princesses. She walked over as a single strand of grey hair pushed the mask up off her face. Her eyes had deep shadows under them with deep lines and creases over her face but she was smiling as she addressed Priz.

“Brother Priz, did you get the data I sent?” she asked.

“We did, Brother Entrapta, along with the news of Brother Hordak’s passing,” Priz said. 

Entrapta’s face sagged with grief the mask dropped back down almost at once. 

“It was… easy for him at the end,” she said quietly. “I tried but…”

“We are almost done with all of the remembrances for him,” Priz said to her. “I am glad you arrived in time for the last one this evening.” 

She shook her head and flipped the mask back up as she said, “No. No, he didn’t want that. He just wanted to… to have it left alone.” 

“Brother Entrapta, I understand. Those may have been his wishes but this is not just for him. It is for all of us. Far too many of us lay nameless and forgotten in the dark of the past. We will not let one of our own slip away into the dark again. We will not be forgotten. Not one, not ever again,” Priz said. 

Finn thought he almost seemed angry at first but he said the last sentence with a sadness and a firmness that broke their heart. Entrapta stood still for a moment and then slowly shook her head as Imp ran up to her. She knelt down and whispered to them for a moment before standing up. 

“I’m going to the sanctum. I’ll be back later,” Entrapta said as she picked up Imp, flipped the mask back down, and stood. She took two steps backwards and disappeared through a trapdoor in the ground. There was a murmuring in the crowd as Emily rolled into the ship and closed the ramp. Izzy looked at where Entrapta had disappeared with a strange look on her face as the crowd started to disperse a little. Finn said something to her that she didn’t hear as they waved at someone walking past.

“Hey, Iz? You alright?” Finn said after they realized she hadn’t responded to them. 

“Um, yeah. I’m ok,” Izzy said. Oak and Artho had already left to have lunch with their moms and Finn and Izzy were supposed to be having lunch with Netossa and Spinnerella. “Just… lost in thought I guess.” 

Izzy forced a smile as she said that. Finn frowned because the smile was too big, too empty, it wasn’t Izzy but they couldn’t think of why it felt so off. They wanted to ask her again but she’d said she was ok and Finn knew trying to second guess would just lead to other problems.

“We’re supposed to meet up with Aunt Tossa and Spinne for lunch. You ready?” Finn said.

“Sure,” Izzy said, the wrong smile still plastered across her face. It was there through lunch. Izzy sat quietly and said very little and while Netossa and Spinnerella just chalked it up to the shyness they’d heard about for Izzy, Finn knew better. They would never claim to know all her moods but shy they’d seen plenty of from her in a wide variety and it certainly wasn’t that as far as Finn could tell. 

After lunch, Izzy went back to the tent and lay down on the cot staring at the tent wall. Finn sat down and waited for her to say something but nothing was forthcoming. Finn fiddled with some gear for a little bit, waiting to see if she’d speak up, and when nothing happened, finally said, “Iz? You’ve been real quiet since this morning and I’m a bit worried about you.” 

Izzy heard Finn but almost didn’t turn over. She wasn’t sure what quite what she was thinking herself so how would she explain it to Finn? She just knew that when she saw Entrapta, someone she’d read so much about, someone who’d devoted her life to research and science standing there, she’d been thrown for a loop. She turned over and looked at Finn and said, “I’m not sure what to say. I’ve just been thinking about Entrapta and what she’s done with her life.” 

“What do you mean?” Finn said. 

“She’s just… well, she always seemed to be the wild card in the history of the war, at least to me. She started out neutral, switched to the Princess Alliance, and then switched to The Horde. She gets sent to Beast Island at some point, survives, then switches sides to the Alliance again, and then is part of the group that brings down Prime. As far as I can tell though, she didn’t particularly seem to care about the causes one way or another, she was mostly interested in the science she was doing and along the way became friends with most of the people she worked with,” Izzy said. 

Finn knew most of what she was talking about, including who had sent her to Beast Island and why, but wasn’t sure where Izzy was going so they just kind of nodded along. 

“Ever since the war she’s done a ton of work. Her and Hordak have done research that leaves most people breathless. Finn, she put out a list of unsolved problems in math a couple of years back that she couldn’t figure out. It turned out some of them are so advanced that people weren’t even  _ aware _ that they could be expressed in the various fields of math they were in and she didn’t even realize it. She just thought she was missing something,” Izzy said. 

Izzy went quiet again and Finn waited. They could tell she wasn’t done yet and Finn knew that it was best to let her sort it out. She made little noises while she tried to think of what to say and then looked at Finn and said, “It’s… Finn, I guess I kind of had… well it seems pretentious to call it an epiphany but maybe that’s what it is. I could do that.  _ I could do that! _ ”

Finn looked at her in confusion before saying, “Do math? Research?” 

Izzy was almost bouncing as she said, “No! Well, yes, but no I mean I could do whatever I want! I know we talked about this the other day but it wasn’t quite real when I said it but seeing her made me kind of realize that it’s there. She did what she wanted! It’s REAL, Finn! I can do whatever I want!” 

Finn treasured every time that Izzy broke forth in a full smile. It was rare and this one was the rarest. Unguarded, completely happy, her smile filled the space with her joy. Finn’s smile echoed her smile and Finn was nodding in agreement as she jumped up, punching the air in joy before grabbing Finn and pulling them up for a big kiss and then clutched them tight to her as Finn heard her whispering to herself over and over, “I can! I can! I can! I can!” 

Izzy felt like she was full of energy all day and as they went into the final remembrance she began to wonder if she should try and dial it back since she couldn’t seem to stop smiling. Artho and Oak had joined up with them as they walked to the final remembrance and hadn’t commented on it but had definitely noticed how Izzy seemed to almost skip every few steps. 

As they went into the courtyard, Entrapta was sitting on top of a crate, using her hair as a seat, looking out over the crowd as it swelled larger and larger. Her visor was down and she didn’t look around. It was almost like a statue looking at them all. Priz was on the crate with her and they seemed to be waiting for something. After the days they had been there, Finn still couldn’t figure out exactly what started off each remembrance although they had started to recognize the build up a bit better. What they weren’t expecting was to hear Entrapta speak. 

“Hordak didn’t want this,” she said quietly. “I’ve spoken with Priz though and I understand why you’re doing this and I think he would have as well. I did want to say a few things though. Hordak and I, we had The List and we were working on it for years. We were working on The List right up to… well... then he…” 

She trailed off for a moment and Finn could tell the crowd wasn’t expecting this and weren’t sure what was going on. Finn looked over to their moms, where they stood with the other princesses, and could see that they were whispering between each other. A small sniff rattled out of the speakers before Entrapta continued. 

“He changed The List so I could do what I could by myself. I’ve reviewed it in the months since he… when he… he died,” she said. “I’ve made changes myself, figured out what I definitely couldn’t do on my own, and I’m dropping that portion of it out to everyone. That’s the remembrance I want for him instead of the one you were going to do tonight. Carry on his work that I can’t do and do it in his memory.” 

The silence was broken only by the wind. Finn thought she couldn't have caused a bigger shock than if she’d announced she was going to blow the castle down. Her next announcement though topped even that.

“I’m leaving Etheria for good,” Entrapta said. “This is my castle but really, I’ve barely been in it over the years or even on Etheria. I’ve had too much to do for science and now, I definitely do. I’m abdicating as princess or whatever I say to stop being one and I know I should have an heir to pass it to or something but I’ve never cared about that. I tried to give it to Priz or one of my other Brothers but they don’t want it.” 

The crowd was muttering and the princesses and Entrapta’s other friends were trying to walk through the crowd to get up to her as Finn’s mouth dropped open. Entrapta brought up a data pad and typed a few things. Suddenly, the beacon on top of the castle that had been running the whole time changed to a deep purple color for a few moments before going dark. 

“Somewhere inside Dryl is a panel that will turn the beacon back on and I left multiple puzzles to solve to get to it. That’s it. Turn the beacon back on, you’ll see the purple, and whoever does it, gets to be the next princess of Dryl,” Entrapta said as she tucked the data pad away and then noticed the princesses were trying to get her attention as she flipped up her facemask and waved. “Hello, friends! Come on, we’ll go to Algo!”

She came down off the crate and walked through the crowd of clones who made way for her as she went towards Algo, her ship. Catra and Adora, followed by the rest of the friends, went along as they walked into the ship. Glimmer popped over in front of Finn who quickly assured her that they’d keep an eye on the kids before she popped back to the side of Bow. 

The crowd was murmuring and Priz, along with other clones Finn vaguely recognized as the council, walked among the crowd talking and explaining and the crowd seemed to accept it. Artho leaned over to Finn and said, “How long do you think they’re going to be talking with Entrapta?” 

Finn looked back towards the ship and shrugged.

“I have no clue,” Finn said. “Let’s round up all the kids and go back to the tents. It looks like this is done and I have a feeling that’s a conversation that’s going to go on for a long time.” 

Artho nodded and soon they were making their way through the crowd, Capella parked firmly on Izzy’s shoulders again as they left. At first Finn figured they’d get into Scorpia and Perfuma’s tent, that being the biggest, but the kids all went straight into The Team’s tent instead. It was packed in there and Finn and Oak finally just closed up the cots and stacked them behind the tent and spread out sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows for everyone to settle onto. 

Izzy talked and laughed more than usual and Oak slid over to Finn at one point and asked quietly, “What’s going on? She’s really talkative.” 

Finn smiled as they watched her learn some hand clapping game with Capella and a few other kids and said, “She kind of had an epiphany earlier. I think this is what hopeful for the future Izzy looks like.” 

Oak watched her flub a clap and laugh before trying again and said, “Good for her.” 

As the evening wore on, they could hear many of the clones start to leave the castle to head back to the spaceport and then heard the launch of the shuttles start up soon afterwards. Most of the kids started getting tired so The Team got them to lay down in the tent and got them covered up with what they could grab until all of the kids except Capella were sleeping soundly on the ground inside the tent. The Team sat outside in chairs with Capella sitting on Finn’s lap half asleep. 

“Do you want to go inside and go to sleep?” Finn asked her. 

“Nu-uh,” she replied, blinking a little to stay awake. “Not tired.” 

“You sure?” Finn said with a grin. 

Capella looked at them, then stood up and moved over to climb into Izzy’s lap. She had been talking a bit with Oak and seemed a bit surprised to have Capella suddenly climb up. 

“Well hello,” Izzy said with a smile.

“Finn’s boring,” Capella said, sticking her tongue out at Finn. 

“I don’t think they’re boring. I think they’re amazing,” Izzy said, winking at Finn. 

Capella gave a groan, rolled her eyes, and hopped down out of Izzy’s lap to her surprise. As Capella moved into Artho’s lap, she said, “Are you going to try and get me to go to sleep or wink at Finn?” 

“Hadn’t planned on it,” Artho said with a smile.

“Good,” Capella said as she leaned back with her arms crossed and glared at Finn and Izzy.

The other three tried not to chuckle as they started talking about something and soon Capella was sprawled out across Artho asleep. Artho carefully stood up and set her just inside the tent and covered her up as she muttered and a little purple glow flickered across her before fading out. 

Oak yawned a bit and said, “It’s almost the middle of the night. You think we should just go to bed or keep waiting up on them?” 

Finn leaned back in their chair and looked back towards the castle. The stream of clones had pretty much stopped about an hour before but Finn figured it was mostly just because it was late. There had been far too many of them to have all cleared out already.

“I say we go to bed although we’ll be sleeping out here since I’m sure there’s not a bit of floor space in the tent. And if we set up the cots out here, if they need us they can wake us without bothering the kids,” Finn said.

There was a general murmur of consent and the four got set up. As they lay down they pulled coats over themselves since they’d used their sleeping bags and blankets for the kids and drifted off. 

It was late in the night when Finn woke up to a bit of murmuring. Sitting up they saw the returned adults standing in the middle of the road hugging and talking quietly before breaking up and heading towards their tents. Finn got up and walked over to their moms giving quiet greetings as they passed by the others and received thanks for keeping an eye on the kids. 

“Get kicked out of your own tent, kiddo?” Catra said with a weary smile in the chill night air as she watched Finn walking over in their unlaced boots and loose coat.

“We got the kids all set up inside and then realized we not only didn’t have room for us but that we’d given out all our sleeping bags and blankets. So we improvised,” Finn said before taking a breath and continuing. “Is Entrapta really stepping down?” 

Adora sighed and nodded. 

“Yes, she is,” Adora said. “Honestly, we shouldn’t be surprised. She’s right, she hasn’t really been on Etheria for any real length of time in years. The clones pretty much keep Dryl running and she has nothing to do with the day-to-day anymore. The only reason she’s even set this up for a successor is the clones said they didn't want to take over the position in any way.”

“You couldn’t talk her out of it?” Finn said. 

“Didn’t try,” Catra said. “It’s her call. We did ask why, listened to what she had to say, and then the princesses got it hammered out of how it would work when someone solved her challenge.” 

“You say that like you weren’t there yourself Princess Catra,” Adora said teasingly. 

Catra just rolled her eyes as she said, “Never should have agreed to that in the wedding. So after we got that figured out we just spent time talking with her. That’s most of what we were doing.” 

“When is she leaving?” Finn said. 

“I don’t know. She didn’t say,” Catra said.

“Probably tomorrow,” a voice said down by their feet. 

The three of them jumped and looked down. Entrapta came up out of another trap door in the ground next to them and flipped up her visor. 

“How many of those  _ are _ there around here?” Adora said in shock. 

“About five,” Entrapta said. 

“There’s only five trapdoors in all of Dryl?” Adora said in confusion. 

“Oh no! There’s way more in the whole castle and the surrounding areas. You said just around here,” Entrapta said with a smile as a large strand of her hair waved around to indicate the immediate area. 

“Makes sense,” Finn said. “What brings you out here?” 

“Oh! That! Yes, well, after everyone left I realized that I should probably say goodbye to all my nieces, niblings, and nephews before I left and since they’re all gathered here as far as I know, I could do it in one go,” Entrapta said. “So I’m here!” 

Catra was grinning as she said, “Entrapta, it’s the middle of the night. Aside from Finn here, I think the rest of them are asleep.” 

Entrapta cocked her head sideways as she thought and said, “Ah, that makes sense. I guess not everyone stays up late.” 

Catra snorted and said, “Because not everyone drinks the espresso you make.” 

“I told you I’d give you the recipe if you wanted,” Entrapta said to her. 

“I’ll say no on her behalf,” Adora said. “There is no way I want to deal with her wired up on that.” 

“It’s not that strong! It’s not even close to an LD50 dose!” Entrapta replied. 

“That’s very reassuring,” Catra said dryly. 

“It should be! Wait… you’re being sarcastic,” Entrapta said, nodding her head. 

Finn jumped in and said, “Entrapta, I guess I understand why you’re leaving but I’m really going to miss you.” 

Entrapta looked at Finn with a smile and said, “You know you can always get me on the long range comm net. Well… except when I’m too close to a large star or other deep gravity well. Or out of range. Or have a malfunction. Well, you can usually get me on the long range comm.” 

Finn laughed a little and said, “That. I’m going to miss that. Can I have a hug?” 

Entrapta nodded as Finn stepped forward and the two hugged close, her hair wrapping around them for a moment. She stepped back and a small voice from the darkness said, “Excuse me, Princess Entrapta?” 

They all turned to see Izzy standing on the side of the road, coat pulled tight around her. 

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Entrapta said, her hair fiddling with the edge of her visor. 

Izzy stepped forward in hesitation and said, “No, we haven’t met, Your Highness.”

“Why are you calling me that?” Entrapta said with a confused look. She turned to Adora and Catra and said, “Did I not abdicate right?” 

Finn walked over to Izzy and took her hand and said, “Entrapta, this is my girlfriend, Izzy. She believes in being proper.”

Entrapta gave a grin as she said, “Oh I understand proper! It’s the foundation of science. Make sure everything is proper and correct and things fall into place!” 

Adora was about to say that’s not quite what Finn meant when Catra took her hand and just shook her head. 

Finn said, “Izzy does a lot of research and builds things.”

Entrapta scuttled forward on her hair and said, “Really!? What have you published?” 

Izzy looked a bit unnerved at the sudden movement but stood her ground, gripping Finn’s hand a little tighter, as she said, “Uh… no, I just read a lot. I don’t do experiments or anything like you do.” 

Entrapta eyes were wide as she said, “Oh, you don’t have to do experiments! There’s always room for someone to do pure theory and let someone else figure it out. You should do that! Just don’t keep it a secret. That’s not how science works. Science is to be shared for all!”

Izzy nodded, starting to smile a little, and said, “Wouldn’t want to be like Fig of Plumeria would I?” 

Entrapa laughed, while Finn, Catra, and Adora looked at each other in confusion. 

“No! You wouldn’t! He was too worried about people saying he was wrong but that’s what science is all about is proving something wrong so we can eliminate it in the search for the correct!” Entrapta said. 

Izzy was nodding along and the two started talking and were soon sitting down in the middle of the road chatting. Izzy listened mostly as Entrapta told her about how she could publish if she wanted and what to look into based on things Izzy said she was interested in. When Catra and Adora realized it was going to go on for a bit they said good-bye to Entrapta, who acknowledged them with a wave from a single strand of her hair, and then gave Finn a kiss good night. 

“You going to stay up with them?” Adora asked.

“Well, they’re sitting in the middle of the road. I probably should, just to stop vehicles if nothing else,” Finn said with a laugh. 

When daybreak came, Finn was yawning but Izzy and Entrapta were still chattering away. Finn had never seen Izzy take so quickly to a person but they figured that it was a good example of kindred spirits. Finn had to get them out of the road as it lightened and vehicles started moving again. As they walked to the tent, Entrapta asked Izzy a question.

“Do you want to be Princess of Dryl?” she said. 

Izzy stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Entrapta. 

“Like, you give it to me?” she said, startled. Finn had stopped and was shaking their head and twitching their ears as if something was caught in them and keeping them from hearing correctly. 

“Sure,” Entrapta said. 

Izzy thought for a moment and then shook her head. 

“No,” she replied. “I don’t want it like that.” 

“What do you mean?” Entrapta said. 

“Well, you went to all that trouble to set up those puzzles and such. If I want your prize, I should solve the puzzles. That’s the fitting way to take over the title,” Izzy said. 

Entrapta thought for a moment before saying, “I did put some thought into it. Ok!” 

“Wait, Izzy,  _ are _ you going to try and solve them?” Finn said in surprise. 

“Maybe,” Izzy said with a grin. “But not before we’re done here. Besides, I have a feeling they’ll still be there if I decide to take a crack at them.” 

Entrapta gave a cackle and a few of the kids poked their heads out of the tent and soon they were surrounded by them all as Entrapta said hello. She spent most of the day with everyone, saying good-bye, and they all walked her to her ship later that evening as the clones packed it tight with things she’d requested. Imp stood on the top of the ramp, making hurry up gestures, while Emily chirped a little and rolled around the group. It was a long good-bye but in the end, not long enough. There were tears, promises to try to keep up with her and to travel to space to visit her, and final hugs until she walked up the ramp of the ship with only Emily beside her, Imp long before having disappeared into the ship. Entrapta stood on the top of the ramp and looked out over the crowd of people below and waved before shutting the ramp. They all cleared away from the landing pad and a few minutes later the ship rose into the air and reached for orbit, as Entrapta, former Princess of Dryl, left Etheria never to be seen on the planet again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the absolutely terrible (and vague) pun with the name Fig of Plumeria. It's a reference to Newton and how he hid that he had figured out calculus. He and Leibniz argued about who came up with it first for YEARS (the Priority Dispute). Go give it a read. 
> 
> Other than that, I have to say that the final line of this fic is one of my favorites that I've written, even though it's melancholy as heck. I'm getting pretty close to the end of this story in my writing, currently on chapter 30, and I'm planning on updating a bit quicker now that I know I probably won't catch up to myself and run out of stuff to post while I try and get more written.


	20. Of All the Western Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team finish up at Dryl and fly on towards Dava, back on the trail of Kiwi and Blu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The mood that evening was somber. To Finn it felt like they were at a second funeral as everyone crowded up into Scorpia and Perfuma’s tent. They had the sides raised into awnings and colored lanterns flickered in the evening light as stories of Entrapta and Hordak circulated around a little but for the most part they seemed to be avoiding the topic. At one point Tern tried to get some singing going and it lasted for a single song before it petered back out to quiet talking. It turned into an early night as everyone decided they’d be heading out in the morning and the group broke up. 

Back at their tent, Finn sat on the edge of the cot and pulled the bundle of letters out and pulled out Hordak’s and Entrapta’s letter. Finn wiped at a tear as they remembered what they’d first thought when they’d found the letters back in the archives, that they had seemed like they’d been intended to be read posthumously, and they realized that in Hordak’s case it was literally true and in Entrapta’s case it felt close enough to hurt as well. The other three stopped in their preparation for bed when they saw Finn with the letters. 

“Hordak and Entrapta’s letters?” Oak asked.

Finn nodded as they slit open the envelope for Hordak’s letter and pulled it out. 

“Do you want me to read them to you?” Finn said looking up. The other three nodded as Finn said, “Ok, here we go.”

_ Finn, _

_ I do not know what to say here. The search is finished and you shall live with Adora and Catra. They’re good women. I believe they shall provide a proper home life for you. Remember that your life is your own, let no one take your free will from you, and do not allow anyone into your life who would deny you who you are or what you can be.  _

_ Hordak _

Finn quietly folded the letter back up and stuck it back in the envelope and carefully put it back in the bundle. 

“I’ve heard a bit of what happened between him and Prime,” Finn said. “That… that seems very him.”

Finn wiped at a tear and took a deep breath. 

“I wish I’d known him better,” Finn said as Izzy reached over to pat their leg. 

“Me too,” Oak said while Artho nodded.

There was silence as they thought and then Finn opened the next one and cracked a little smile. 

“All the others so far have been handwritten but this one is printed out,” Finn said as they held up the letter briefly for the others to see.

_ Hello Finn! _

_ Despite all our efforts we didn’t find anyone. Which logically doesn’t make a lot of sense. You’d think that someone would have seen something and wanted to say something to us but it just didn’t work out that way and the others have assured me that this happens sometimes. It’s strange because I can’t imagine leaving someone sitting on the sidewalk in the first place but when it comes to people, what they do doesn’t always make sense to me. Maybe if we’d found them I could have got some data from them that would have made the whole thing make sense.  _

_ After all, anything makes sense if you work at it. The universe follows rules if you can only figure them out. It might turn out that the thing you’re studying is truly random but that doesn’t mean that you didn’t figure it out. It just means it follows the rule of randomness and you can’t predict it but you can know that it’s random. I’m not sure what you can do with that but I felt like you should know that.  _

_ In beautiful imperfection, _

_ Entrapta _

Finn gave a smile and then a sigh as they remembered that she had left. It seemed odd. It wasn’t as if she had been around a lot but Finn found it weird to know that she wouldn’t ever be coming back as they tucked away the letters again. Then an involuntary yawn stretched their mouth wide and the rest nodded as if in agreement.

“It’ll be nice to sleep under something other than a coat tonight,” Artho said, taking the chance to change the subject. 

Oak said, “At least we didn’t have to sleep on the ground.”

Izzy said, “I think the kids liked it. They got to share in our adventure. Besides, it was pretty well padded.”

Finn snorted and said, “With our sleeping bags but it was worth it. P-Pear seemed really stoked about it when I saw her this morning.”

“Yeah, I was sure she’d take after Mom when she was younger but as she’s getting older, she’s definitely turning into that one,” Artho said nodding at Oak. 

“I hadn’t thought of that. I guess I need to be sure and give her lots of guidance in the future,” Oak said with a grin. 

“If it’s like any of the guidance that others gave you, it’s going to go in one ear and out the other,” Artho said. 

Finn held up a hand and said, “Alright, I’m going to say no before this gets into a thing. Everyone is leaving out tomorrow. Before we go to sleep, let’s have a quick planning session.” 

Izzy, yawning but alert, pulled out her notebook with a little gleam in her eye.

“You just made Izzy’s whole evening I think,” Artho said with a laugh.

Izzy flipped through the notebook a little and with no preamble said, “Artho, I assume you’re going to check the skiff and the route there. Oak, I also assume you’ll be helping with the fine details of the route. Finn, you speak to the council, see what you can figure out. I’ll go over our stuff one last time before we leave to make sure we don’t need to top anything off, replace, or fix anything before we go.” 

Izzy looked up at the rest with a question on her face. 

“Sounds good,” Finn said. 

“The route is almost a straight line,” Artho said. “Oak, you want to go with Finn?” 

“Yep, I’ll do that. I think even you can manage a straight line,” Oak replied.

Artho rolled her eyes as Izzy wrote a few things and they agreed on their course of action. They settled down for the night and were soon asleep. The next day they were up early, packed, and had their tent dropped and packed up ready for stowing before most of the others had started to even stir. Perfuma and Scorpia came past, bright eyed and cheerful with hot tea, fruit, and bread for them all. 

“Ah thanks Moms,” Artho said as they sipped at the tea and ate. 

“No problem, Doodle Bug,” Scorpia said. “You know we’re always up early. I’m surprised to see you all up though.” 

“Are you implying that she’s a layabout?” Oak said with a grin. 

“Acorn, you should be kinder to your sister,” Perfuma said with a smile. 

“Mom, I love her dearly but I’ve also been around her for weeks now with no escape,” Oak said. “We’re both closer than we’ve ever been and I’m ready to never see her again at the same time.” 

Artho tossed a grape at Oak who caught it in her mouth. 

“Thanks,” she said with a grin. 

“Have they been like this the whole time?” Scorpia said. 

“Yes,” both Finn and Izzy responded, deadpan. 

“Are you going to stay at the Heart Blossom after this?” Artho said. 

“Yep, we’d already cut our Fright Zone time short,” Scorpia said. “We’ll be there for the usual time I think.” 

“Alright, we still planning on going back to Bright Moon after Dava?” Artho said. 

Izzy nodded and said, “That’s still the plan.” 

“Alright, we’ll come by the Heart Blossom either on our way there or on the way back,” Artho said. 

“Well that certainly covers it,” Scorpia said. 

“We’re trying to let the universe guide us,” Artho said solemnly. 

Perfuma pulled Artho in for a kiss on the head and laughed. As the morning wore on, everyone was buzzing about. Finn had gone in early to talk with Priz and came back shaking their head to report that the council didn’t keep track of who had settled in the kingdom or even really had any idea how many were in the kingdom. While Finn was gone, Izzy went over everything and then quietly approached Frosta, taking deep breaths the whole way, to ask if she’d deliver her letter to Emma for her. Frosta smiled and accepted it and Izzy chatted for a minute before leaving and hiding behind the skiff for a few minutes to get herself back in order. 

Glimmer was one of the last people to get up and after she’d had her morning grumble, with Bow patiently listening, she got ready and soon she was teleporting people back to their homes. With everything taken down, it was just the whole group sitting around beside their respective piles of gear waiting for Glimmer and chatting. Soon it was back down to just Glimmer, Bow, Capella, Catra, and Adora, and they were saying the last good-bye.

“We’re going to go to Dava after this,” Finn was telling them as they made last minute hugs and good-byes. “We’ll ask around, see if we can find anyone that fits the names we’re looking for, and if we do, we’ll figure out what to do from there. Either way, after we’re done, we’ll probably be headed back to Bright Moon.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Adora said with a smile. “It’ll be good to see you at home again. Also, Izzy, don’t forget to call Grandma soon.” 

“I’ll do it tonight,” she said. 

“I’ll let her know,” Catra said. “I gotta run to the market when we get home and she’s on the way.” 

“Izzy, you still haven’t seen my room,” Capella said. 

“I’ll do my best to get up there and see it when we get back, ok?” Izzy said. 

“Ok,” Capella said as she hugged Izzy. 

With a final good-bye, the five left. The Team stood in silence beside the road for a long minute before Oak said, “Well, let’s do what we’re out here to do.” 

They all made one last pass, made sure everything was on board, and then settled in their places as Artho took them out and away from Dryl. Izzy watched the castle for as long as she could before it was out of sight and then leaned back on Finn as they flew, silent and in thought. 

The flight to Dava was indeed almost a straight line and the three not flying watched the mountainous terrain beneath them as Artho flew through low points in several mountain passes. After several hours, Artho announced they were about to come into the valley where the town sat. Oak gave a quick reference to the navigation, showed it to Izzy who nodded, and soon they flew over one last pass before taking a slight turn and following a wide valley full of green and blue waving grasses. 

“Mom said this was a pretty new town,” Finn said. “I wonder what used to be here.” 

Izzy said, “Possibly nothing. The kingdom was pretty empty until after the war. A lot of clones settled here, some ex-Horde soldiers too, and then of course just people interested in living somewhere new.”

Artho, looking forward at the town beside a small river running down from the snow melt, said, “Well, there’s not an airport anywhere near here so I’m going to have to set down somewhere.”

The other three shot her a look and Finn said, “What happened to old, not bold?” 

“It’s the middle of the afternoon and I referenced some current topographic maps that I’m pretty sure your Mom made so I know there’s plenty of flat land to put down on,” Artho said. “Not to mention this thing is designed for landing and taking off from unprepared areas. We’re fine. There’s nothing bold about this.” 

Finn shot a look at Oak who just shrugged. 

“Well it sounds you planned it out,” Finn said. “I guess I can’t fault you if I say you’re in charge of the skiff.”

“That’s right,” Artho said with a grin as she suddenly took a sharp turn downwards, causing everyone to grab onto something.

A few minutes later, she was putting them down in a small field next to a small stand of pines. The river by the town wasn’t far away so they knew it would be a short walk there. Most of the birds had moved away for the oncoming winter but a few large red birds with orange swirls over their bodies perched in the trees and watched The Team hop off the skiff. 

“I saw a little cabin on the other side of these trees,” Oak said. “I’m going to go and make sure they’re alright with us setting up here.”

The others agreed and Oak went off through the trees. After a short time they walked up to the door of the cabin, a flower garden plowed under for the winter but a nice winter garden full of cabbages, onions, radishes, and beets was thriving and the herb garden by the front door was giving off enthralling scents in the late afternoon warmth. Oak knocked on the door and the door swung open almost immediately to an old hunched over person. 

“What!?” they shouted at Oak as Oak stepped back a little. 

“Uh…, my name is Oak and my friends and I landed in the field over there and we just wanted to make sure that it was alright if we stayed there for a few days maybe,” Oak said as the person eyed them. 

“WHAT!?” the person shouted again. 

Oak said a bit louder, “My name is Oak! My friends and I landed in the field on the other side of these trees! Can we stay there!?” 

The person was about to shout what again when an old woman rolled up in a motorized wheelchair with a big smile. She was covered in jet black fur except for deep green fur around her ears.

“Hello, Oak. My name is Rust. This is Pinion,” she said. 

She turned to Pinion and gestured in sign language as they grumped a bit and signed back. After a few moments they looked at Oak with a sharp eye and went back inside. 

“Sorry about that. I heard what you said as I was coming up. Is that the skiff I heard going over a bit ago?” Rust said. 

Oak nodded and said, “I didn’t see any other skiffs so yes, that was probably us you heard.”

“Well, that field is nothing to anyone so I think it’d be fine. I’d invite you to stay here but there’s not a lot of room,” Rust said. 

“Oh, that’s alright. We’ve been traveling for a while and we’re pretty well set for all circumstances,” Oak said with a grin. 

Rust leaned back in her chair and said, “Well, if you need anything, let us know.”

“We will, and thank you again,” Oak said. 

“Oh, no need for that. Like I said, it’s not being used so it’s not like we’re doing any big favors,” Rust said. 

“Well, I’m going to go back and let everyone know we’re good,” Oak said. “Have a good evening!” 

As Oak turned to go, Rust suddenly turned in her chair and said, “Wait a moment!” 

She wheeled off into the small cabin and was back a minute later with a small ceramic jar with a sealed lid. 

“Do you like sauerkraut?” she said as she handed the jar to Oak.

“Yes, I do!” Oak said as they took the surprisingly heavy jar. 

“Well that’s some I make here. Radish and cabbage. You can make it part of your dinner tonight. Probably need some good veggies after travelling. Will that be enough for all of you?” Rust said. 

Oak laughed and said, “There’s only four so there should be plenty assuming I don’t eat it all myself.” 

Rust smiled at Oak as she said, “Well, just be sure and get the crock back to me please.” 

“I will! I promise I won’t eat that,” Oak said as she started walking away and waved. Rust waved back and soon Oak was back at the skiff. 

“We’re good to stay,” Oak said to the three leaned back against the side of the skiff and chatting. “They’re nice people! We’ll have to all go and say good-bye when we go and they gave us some sauerkraut for dinner tonight!”

Izzy said, “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had that before.” 

Oak’s eyes lit up.

“You have been missing out! I can’t wait for you to try it!” Oak said, setting the jar down on the skiff. 

Artho poked at the jar and said, “Well, what are we going to do? Are we camping out here? Do we want to try and go into town and get a room?” 

Finn sat there and tapped the side of the skiff with their hand as they thought. 

“I think we should set up out here,” Finn said. 

“Why?” Oak said. “It didn’t look like that small a town, we could probably find a room somewhere.” 

Finn shrugged and said, “I don’t know. My gut is just saying we should stay out here.”

Izzy looked at them in concern as she said, “Like you feel like this is something dangerous?” 

“No, it just… I can’t explain it. It just feels better to be out here you know?” Finn said. 

Artho said, “Maybe it’s because you’re nervous about what you’ll find in the town?” 

Finn looked down, their tail twitching a bit, as they said, “Maybe? I know we’ve been in the tent for quite a while now but can we do it some more?”

Oak said, “I’m alright with it. We’ve got plenty of supplies and honestly the tent is pretty roomy and the cots are comfortable. Not real luxurious but it does the job.”

Finn gave a grin and said, “I’ve said the same to Mom before about them.”

Artho shrugged and said, “It’s not like Oak and I didn’t spend a large amount of time growing up in a tent of one kind or another. It’s fine with me. At least you didn’t ask this back in Moraine.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “I’m fine with it just… could you let me know if this feeling doesn’t get better?” 

Finn looked at her and said, “Sure, but don’t worry about it. Really, I’ve probably just got nerves or something.” 

“It’s just when Catra was teaching me she told me that if something doesn’t feel right to pay attention to it,” Izzy said. “So I’m trying to.”

“I still can’t believe you trained with Aunt Catra,” Oak said. “That’s so cool.” 

Izzy gave a shy smile and said, “It was a lot of talking honestly. It’s not like we had a lot of time and she figured it’d be better to get me being aware instead of being dangerous.” 

Finn jumped in to say, “Well if someone wants to stay and help me, I can set up the tent and get dinner going if the other two want to go into town and poke around.” 

“You sure, Finn?” Artho said. “I mean, we should probably just have you wander around town and see who you bump into. It seems to be the best method we have so far.” 

Finn rolled their eyes and said, “It’s the only method we’ve had so far.” 

“Not true. We interviewed that beekeeper,” Oak said with a laugh. 

“Which didn’t help. Let’s try asking around this time,” Finn said. “That way we don’t have to rely on fluke accidents.” 

“Finn, I’ll stay with you,” Artho said. “If you’re fine with that Izzy.” 

Izzy looked tempted to argue for a moment and then said, “That’s alright. Finn, you alright with that?” 

Finn stepped forward to her and took her hand in their hand and looked into her eyes and said, “Every moment you’ve been gone, every moment we’ve been apart, every moment I do not see you, is and has been as an eternity, a gulf of time that feels unending, but in that time I have not and will not ever stop thinking about you as I wait patiently for your return, somehow, some way, and I know that my love for you will carry me through anything.” 

Izzy went soft-eyed as she gave Finn a kiss. Artho covered her face and shook her head and Oak grinned as Izzy said, “I love you and you didn’t answer.” 

“Sure, that’ll be fine,” Finn said with a smile. 

“Did you come up with that on the fly?” Oak said as Izzy slung her satchel over her shoulder. 

Finn gave a mischievous smile and said, “Maybe.”

“No, they didn’t,” Izzy said laughing. “It’s a line from  _ The Tragedy of Hope. _ ” 

Finn gave her a quick surprised look before bursting into a huge smile. Izzy returned the smile as she said, “I may have started reading a few plays.” 

Finn said, “I hope I get to surprise you one day like you always do me.” 

Artho started waving her hands and said, “Get going! I’d rather not be worrying about you if it gets dark. You two can be cutesy later.” 

Izzy and Oak went walking off then and Finn and Artho stayed behind to haul out the gear. They had everything set up pretty quickly and they were sitting around debating about when to start dinner when Artho said, “I can’t get that line out of my head from earlier. That one from the play. What is it?” 

Finn said, “It’s a newer play. It was written under a pen name so the author isn’t known but it's a high tragedy. It tells the story of Mara and Light Hope falling in love and then being separated. The final act is heartbreaking. Well, the whole thing is but the final act is the hardest. Light Hope had been damaged and didn’t truly remember Mara but something happens to restore her memory and it’s essentially one long monologue of Light Hope remembering Mara shortly before she dies as well.” 

Artho said, “Finn, that sounds horrendously depressing. Why would you quote that?” 

“Well, the sentiment is sweet out of context,” Finn said. 

Artho said, “Well, that’s true… wait? What is it in context?“ 

Finn shifted a little and said, “The last line of the play.” 

Artho said, “And it’s a tragedy so…” 

Finn nodded and said, “Yep, it’s right before Light Hope dies. Like I said, sweet out of context.” 

“Well Izzy liked it and she’s read it so I’m glad she appreciated it,” Artho said with a laugh. 

Finn got wide eyed as their ears folded back for a moment as they said, “Oh! I did not think of that!” 

Artho laughed harder as she got up to start setting up to cook as Finn stood to help, just shaking their head. 

Later, shortly after night had fallen and Artho was starting to get a little antsy, Oak and Izzy walked out of the trees laughing and cheerful as they entered the circle of light from the camp’s lanterns. They sat down and ate dinner, finding the sauerkraut to be amazing and polishing off the jar, and afterwards everyone pitched in on clean up. Izzy called Grandma and filled her in on what was going on and they all chatted with her. Afterwards, as they sat around the table as Oak told them about the town. 

“We just looked around the town square, went into a few shops. It’s near the river after you get off the bridge. Finn, I went ahead and asked a few questions around the market but it was pretty thinly populated since it was getting late. I figured that we should check that again though. If they’re living here, they gotta eat, so they gotta go to the market,” Oak said. 

“Good idea, Oak,” Finn said. “Tomorrow we can head in early and try and catch the crowd that way.”

“Sounds good,” Oak said. 

Suddenly Artho was sitting up straight in her chair and pointing out into the woods along the field. 

“What is  _ that!?” _ she said, sounding a bit alarmed. 

The other three turned and looked and saw a slow moving multicolored light in the forest. 

Izzy turned her head side to side for a moment before saying, “Magical discharge maybe?” 

Artho said, “It looked like a person at first.” 

Finn, remembering an old story Adora had told them, said, “Like that story Mom tells about Alwyn?” 

Artho relaxed a little but then tensed up again as she said, “That was around First One’s tech though. It’s pretty much empty land around here except for that cabin and the town.” 

They watched the light split into multiple parts, move back and forth in the trees, fade out and then reappear somewhere else. It seemed to form orbs and then streamers, flowing like water between containers as everyone stayed silent, trying to hear something but no noise was forthcoming. Finn started getting nervous again and Oak was getting on edge as well. Only Izzy was watching the whole thing calmly. 

Oak finally stood up and said, “I’m going to go check it out.” 

Artho said, “Did you hit your head when you were gone!?” 

Oak was rummaging around and as she pulled out a flashlight, said, “Well, we can sit here and wonder what the heck it is or we can go out there and figure it out. Who’s with me?” 

Izzy jumped to her feet and said, “I’m going with you.” 

“You know what? Yeah, I’m going,” Finn said. 

Artho grimaced and said, “Well I’m not staying back here by myself wondering what happened to you all. Let’s get this over with.” 

They all grabbed flashlights and went towards the trees, leaving the lights off and relying on the glow from the lanterns in the camp, the faint glow of star and moonlight overhead, and the lights in the trees themselves. When they got to the tree line, the lights suddenly vanished as they walked under the first tree. They all stopped and shared looks. 

“Yeah, that wasn’t ominous at all,” Artho said as her hand gripped tighter around the flashlight. 

Oak took a few more steps in and then realized that no one was following her. 

“Are you coming or not?” Oak whispered, looking over her shoulder. 

“Not,” Artho whispered back. 

Izzy started to follow Oak and Finn squeezed Artho’s shoulder before going after Izzy. Artho sighed, shook her head, and followed right on Finn’s heals as they got deeper under the trees. The trees were mostly pine with some deciduous trees mixed in and the mix of pine needles and old tree leaves made for silent walking and almost seemed to suck in any sound that got made. 

They weren’t too far back from the tree line when Artho turned on her flashlight. Everyone jumped a little at the sudden illumination and turned to her as she shrugged, her face lit eerily from below as she whispered, “Sorry.” 

They slowly walked in, looking around themselves, as one by one the other three turned on their flashlights as well. They walked deeper into the forest when Artho looked behind and noticed they couldn’t make out the lights of their camp anymore. 

“Hey,” she whispered. No one turned to look at her and she realized she’d spoken too softly. 

“Hey,” she tried again but this time it came out a bit too loudly and the other three jumped at the sudden noise in the silence. 

“Sorry,” Artho said as they all turned to look at her. “I just noticed I can’t see the camp anymore. Did anyone think to take a compass reading or anything before we started traipsing through the woods?” 

The look on everyone’s faces said that no one had thought of doing something like that and Artho groaned a little. 

“Do we at least remember the way back?” she said. 

Finn looked around but they’d been following Oak and they weren’t any good at navigation anyway. Izzy looked around, pointed, and said, “It’s that way.” 

Oak turned a bit and said, “No it’s not, it’s that way.” 

“Um, are you two messing with us?” Finn said nervously. 

Artho looked around and was about to say something when all their lights went out, plunging them into darkness. Finn felt their fur stand on edge as they could barely make out the outline of those near them and knew that if they could barely see anyone with their vision then the others were definitely in pitch darkness. Finn started to speak, to tell everyone to come towards their voice so they could join hands but the other three decided to start speaking as well so it was a jumble of noise for a minute. 

“Hey!” Finn finally shouted. Finn could vaguely see everyone turn to them.

“I can just see your outlines. Come towards my voice,” Finn said. 

Finn guided them in and it didn’t take long before they were together as the others carefully crept over to them. They each had a hold of someone’s shoulder or hand or arm and stood there for a moment. 

“Alright, quick flashlight check,” Finn said.

Finn could hear someone clicking at the switch on their flashlight and then Oak said, “Mine is completely... um, not working.”

“Same,” Artho said. 

Izzy’s voice came out of the darkness as she said, “Those are solid flashlights. Adora uses them for survey work and we made sure they worked. I can see maybe one of them going bad on us but all of them? All at once?” 

Finn felt a shudder down their back as their fur stood up on end as they said, “That’s not comforting. So now what?” 

“The smart move is to just sit down right here and wait for daybreak,” Izzy said. 

“I’m not so sure I want to stay out here all night,” Artho said. 

“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Oak said. “Finn, any chance you could walk us out? Can you see well enough?” 

Finn said, “Maybe if my eyes adjust more but really, it’s dark under here. With the trees blocking out the moonlight and starlight… I don’t know. It might be doable but then again we might just get lost more. It’s not like I have any clue which way to go.” 

They were all silent for a moment and then Oak suddenly whispered, “Did you see that?” 

Artho whispered back, “This isn’t the time to be screwing around, Oak!” 

“I’m not! I just saw a little spark of light!” Oak said. 

Izzy was about to say something when she saw a few small golden sparks near them and whispered, “I just saw it behind you, Finn.” 

Finn glanced over their shoulder but saw nothing and as they turned back to say so suddenly saw a few more golden sparkles as well a bit behind Izzy.

“I just saw it!” Finn whispered.

“I did too!” Artho responded. 

Slowly, there started a slow fall of golden sparks seeming to fall from the underside of the trees in a circle all around them. They all huddled together, not sure what to do, as they watched as silver sparks started falling as well until it seemed like they were surrounded by a large circular curtain of golden and silver sparks. As the sparks started to slow and go out, they spotted the multicolored lights, floating in the woods around them. 

“ _ What is going ON!? _ ” Artho said through clenched teeth.

Izzy was the first to step away from the huddle and Finn grabbed her shoulder. As Izzy turned around in the shifting light Finn could see she was at ease. 

“It’s alright, Finn,” she said. “Look.” 

“Iz, be careful!” Finn said as she stuck her hand out towards where a few sparks still fell and they parted and went around her hand.

“Did it just avoid your hand?” Oak said, suddenly fascinated.

“It did,” Izzy said as she ran her hand through the dimming curtain and they all moved out of her way as her hand passed through the air. The multicolored lights continued to flow around them.

Oak was the next to walk over to Izzy and try it. She turned around with a grin. 

“It just… it almost feels like you’re moving your hand through thin water!” Oak said.

“Thin water?” Finn said. 

“It’s the only thing I can think of that makes any sense!” Oak said with growing excitement.

Finn went over, with Artho trailing behind, and they both tried the same thing. Soon, the sparks extinguished and the lights continued to flow around them in a large circle, weaving in and out of the tree trunks and floating over their head through the branches. As nothing except the light continued to happen, everyone started to relax a little bit more and were soon watching the lights in wonder. 

“What is going on?” Artho said, a tinge of awe in her voice. 

“Magical discharge like I said earlier,” Izzy said. “Only thing I can think of but…”

“Yeah, it’s not like giving it a name makes it…,” Finn said before trailing off as well. 

They continued to watch for almost half an hour until the lights slowly faded away. Oak was sitting down on the ground, leaned back against a trunk watching, Izzy was behind Finn with her head on their shoulder and her arms around their waist, and Artho had crouched down to watch. As the lights faded away to nothing, there was a moment of darkness and then their flashlights all turned back on. Everyone jumped a bit at the suddenness of it and then laughed, tension gone. 

“I don’t know what that was but I think I’m going to remember this evening for a long, long time,” Artho said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished this story last night. There's still some minor revisions I'll make and draft cleanup but I wrote the last line. I've been working on this for almost half a year at this point and it feels odd to have brought it through. It's at around 136,000 words, the largest thing I've ever written and honestly, one of the largest personal projects I think I've ever brought to completion. That being said, I'm definitely going to be posting more frequently now so everyone who's following along, and thank you for that!, don't have to wait.


	21. Far On the Ringing Plains of Windy Troy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team head in to town to ask questions and try new things and get a lead to follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

They found their way back to camp pretty easily afterwards and settled in for the night. None of them went to sleep quickly, the memory of the dancing lights still in their head. The next morning they all woke up early, Artho making breakfast as they sat around in the chill morning air, with the grass damp with dew. The trees near them just looked like trees and didn’t seem to give any indication of being the least bit magical. 

“That was real, huh?” Oak said. 

“What was real?” Artho said. 

Oak looked at her and said, “Don’t try to deny what happened!” 

Artho laughed as she put plates in front of everyone and sat down. 

“Well then don’t ask a question you know the answer to!” she said. 

Finn shook their head and said, “That was unbelievable. Oak, I can imagine why you’d want to double check it really happened.” 

Izzy picked at her food as she kept looking towards the forest and said, “I wonder if it was sentient.” 

The other three stopped eating suddenly and looked at her. 

“I’m sorry. What?” Oak said. 

“Well, it disappeared right when we stepped into the trees. Then when we got back into the trees, our lights went out all at once, like something with intent turned them off. Then after we’d been standing for a moment, it put on a show, or tried to communicate with us, or just did something we don’t understand, then when it was done, our lights turned back on,” Izzy said. “It just seems like it had sentience is all I’m saying.” 

The other three stared at Izzy a bit more and then back towards the trees. 

“Izzy, that is the most unsettling thing anyone has ever said to me before I’ve been done with breakfast before,” Artho said. 

“Why? It probably isn’t hostile or dangerous to us,” Izzy said as she took a bite. 

“See, it’s that probably part I’m not a fan of,” Finn said, trying to put a grin on. 

“Well, I’m just making assumptions based on observation so it’s not perfect,” Izzy said. 

Oak grinned and said, “Well, you know what? I still think it was great.” 

She turned to the forest and shouted into the morning air, “Thank you for the show last night! We loved it!” 

Finn and Izzy started laughing and Artho just shook her head but still grinned a little. They cleaned up, packed some stuff away, and were soon walking through the woods towards town. Izzy and Oak quickly got them to a road that wound through the overhanging trees and not long after they were walking over a sturdy concrete bridge into the town square. As anticipated, the town square was full of people at the morning market. The Team quickly huddled and agreed to split up and take one side of the market and work towards a large building with a clock tower climbing skyward at the other end of the square. 

As Izzy and Finn started making their way along, Izzy hung back as she felt a little nervous at the thronging crowd. Finn though easily struck up conversations with the various stall owners, occasionally buying some little thing. At one point in one of the conversations, Finn held up a blue-ish grey fruit they didn’t recognize as they said, “So it’s some kind of citrus?” 

“I guess?” the stall owner said. “It’s not native to Etheria. Some clones are growing them out on the edge of town. They call them kib. They’ve been working at it ever since the town was founded and finally brought a crop in. I bought a few to see if they’d move.” 

Finn gave it a little squeeze and a sniff as they caught a tart smell followed by a lingering sweetness and said, “What does it taste like?” 

“Not what you’d expect based on the smell honestly. It’s almost salty to me with a little bit of sweetness,” the stall owner said. “You want to try it?” 

Finn nodded and said, “Sure! Whole point of travel is to try new things.” 

The stall owner pulled out a long, thin folding knife and opened it up to begin slicing the fruit up into sections. As they handed Finn and Izzy two pieces he said, “You can eat the skin. So, you said you’re traveling?” 

Finn took a bite and as promised a salty sweetness washed through their mouth. 

“Wow, you’re not kidding. That’s pretty interesting. And yeah, we’re traveling around, heard about the town, figured we’d come through,” Finn said. 

“Nice to hear we’re getting a little talk out in the wide world,” the stall owner said.

“You know, I’ll take four of those,” Finn said pointing at the fruit. “And yep, we’re definitely going to recommend the place. We’ve only been here a little bit and already love it.” 

The stall owner smiled as Finn handed them a net bag they had in their pocket and the stall owner put five fruits into it. 

“Oh, I just wanted four,” Finn said politely.

“Well you got five,” the stall owner said with a grin. “Make sure you tell your friends we’re generous around here.” 

Finn laughed as they said, “I can do that for sure. In fact, I was talking to some people before we came out this way and I think some old family friends might already live here. It’s really one of the reasons we came out.” 

“Really? Who are they? Small town, I might know them,” the stall owner said as they tossed the coins that Finn gave them into a box. 

“Their names are Kiwi and Blu,” Finn said nonchalantly. “I haven’t seen them in years though.”

Izzy tensed up, just like the other moments when Finn had managed to bring it up as they wandered the market. 

“I think I might actually know them,” the stall owner said. “Blu, tall thin woman? Blue hair, blue swirls across her skin? And Kiwi, short woman, broad shoulders?” 

Finn wasn’t sure as they didn’t really remember them at all but it was the first time someone had seemed to indicate they knew them at all so they smiled and said, “Yeah! I think that’s them!” 

The stall owner smiled and said, “Well you’re in luck. They do live here. They’re out towards the edge of town, actually on the edge of the orchard that grew those kibs. They don’t come into town a lot but they seem to be decent people. You want directions to go out and see them?” 

Finn gave a big smile that hid the turmoil churning away inside of them and said, “Sure! I’d love to say hello before we have to leave.” 

The stall owner pulled out a pad of paper and sketched out a map and some directions and handed it over to Finn. 

“There you go! Glad I can reunite people,” the stall owner said with a smile. 

Finn looked at the paper, barely taking it in as they took a deep breath as they barely remembered to keep smiling before folding it up and tucking it away. 

“Well, I’m going to keep the shopping going,” Finn said. “Thanks for the directions!”

“Not a problem,” the stall owner said as Finn started moving along. 

Izzy was right next to Finn as they walked through the crowd. 

“Do you think it’s really them?” she said. 

Finn looked around for a moment, feeling uncomfortable in the crowd suddenly, as they said, “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t really remember what they look like so I very well may have just agreed to directions to two random people but I don’t know. I can’t imagine two people having those exact same names in the town we were told to come to by someone who knew them.” 

“Unless Snow-by was really trying to throw you off,” Izzy said. 

“But then no one would recognize the names would they?” Finn said. 

“That’s true. I guess we follow up on it,” Izzy said. 

“Well let’s go over to the meeting spot and wait for Artho and Oak,” Finn said. 

When they got to the clock tower they figured out it was a popular meeting spot. The stairs to the building had a lot of people hanging around and talking, a small band played in the street in front of it, and a little push cart full of ice and drinks sat at the foot of the stairs doing decent business. Finn got four fruit flavored fizzy drinks and sat down with Izzy on one of the lower steps.

Izzy picked a drink out and started sipping at it as she got her notebook out to make a few notes. Finn silently handed her the sheet that the stall owner had given them and Izzy copied it out before folding it back up and sticking it in the back of her notebook. As they sat and waited in silence, Izzy pulled one of the fruits out, and began to eat it. She took a bite and then handed it to Finn. Finn took it, took a bite, and then handed it back to Izzy. Back and forth they ate, quietly taking small bites, occasionally washing it down with their drinks as they watched the crowd. Eventually nothing was left but the core as Finn leaned back against Izzy. She began to casually run a hand through the fur on the back of their head as Finn felt their nervousness ebb away as they gave a large contented sigh. Not long after, Oak and Artho found them.

“I see you two are taking it easy while we got a possible lead,” Artho said as she sat down next to them and Oak leaned against a railing.

Finn handed up the drinks and fruit to the two and said, “Well, it sounds like we both did well then because we did too.” 

“Before all that, where in the world did you find kib fruit?” Oak said as she took a bite. 

Izzy looked at her as she said, “You know about these?” 

Oak nodded and said between a mouthful, “Of course! Mom’s the plant princess. Some clones approached her about whether or not she thought they’d grow on Etheria. We got to try some although they didn’t taste as good as these.” 

Finn said, “Well they grow them here but we’re getting off track. What’s your lead?”

“Well, we know two people by that name live here. The woman said it was out on the edge of town but she couldn’t remember which way,” Oak said. 

“Well, we got basically the same but we also got a map,” Finn said.

“Good,” Artho said. “I wasn’t really looking forward to wandering around town, trying to find which place they were talking about. The description was basically, ‘I know it’s a one-story house but I think it might have a little shed beside it, but then again, I can’t remember, maybe it was a two-story,’ and I was just sitting there going, Um… ok.” 

Finn laughed and said, “Ours is more detailed but I guess that doesn’t mean it’s accurate. It could just be wrong in another way.” 

“What do we want to do then?” Oak said. “Drop in on them?” 

Izzy took a sip before saying, “Maybe we should send a card or something to let them know we’d like to talk. Finn?”

Finn sat there and weighed the ideas. Finally they nodded and said, “I’m not really looking to start some serious relationship with these people so it’s not like I care if we just drop in on them and they get a bit irritated at it. I say we head out there and see if they’re in. If they’re not, we’ll hang around town a little bit and try again in the evening.” 

Izzy stood up and said, “Alright, let’s get this over with then.”

Oak laughed as she said, “You make it sound like you’re facing off against your doom.” 

Izzy gave a small smile and said, “It’s meeting new people. It is facing off against my doom.” 

Izzy consulted the map in the notebook and they started following it. The town itself showed every indication of being new and highly planned as they moved through it. The roads back into small neighborhoods off the main road through town all had a curve to them with the only straight lines being the main road itself and the buildings along the main road were interspersed at regular intervals with little pocket parks filled with sculpture and comfortable seating. It wasn’t long before they were walking out into the countryside again though and Izzy had to stop and consult the drawn map again to be sure they hadn’t missed anything. 

“Says just a bit further,” Izzy said and then looked around. “It’s kind of isolated out here isn’t it?”

“Well didn’t the guy say that it was by an orchard?” Finn said.

Izzy nodded and Finn continued on by saying, “Well, maybe they work at the orchard and it’s just easy to live there.”

Finn though was starting to feel nervous and was picking some of the same up off of Izzy which only deepened it. Artho and Oak didn’t say anything but Finn thought they were a bit uneasy as well. Finn gave a smile to everyone as they said, “Alright, I think we’re all feeling it so I’ll say it. We’re worried but what is there to worry about? It’s not like the people back in town where like, ‘We know them! Beware for you shall not return if you seek them out!’”

Artho snorted and said, “That’s true. Probably just going to be a dead end to be honest.” 

Finn frowned and said, “True. I mean, I hope it isn’t. I hope it’s true but we have been treating Snow-by’s tip like it’s top-notch.”

Artho said, “Which is on us but really, think of everything we’ve done since then. Dead end or not, it’s been a heck of a trip so far.” 

“It’s certainly lived up to what I was hoping when I jumped on it back in your backyard, Finn,” Oak said. 

Finn gave a wistful smile and said, “That seems like it was forever ago and it’s only been what? A few weeks?” 

Izzy gave a small smile to Finn and said, “We’re living the life aren’t we?” 

Finn laughed and said, “Yes, yes we are.” 

Artho shook her head as she said, “How about we keep walking?” 

It wasn’t much longer before they came to a long dirt path trailing back off the main road. A small sign pointing further down the road that said simply, “Orchard” sat next to the path. Izzy consulted the map again and said, “This is it. Says go down the path where the sign pointing towards the orchard is located.” 

The four all looked down the path, overhung by trees and lined with ragged bushes and just wide enough for two people to walk down, before looking back at each other.

“How well do we trust this?” Artho said.

Finn, who was already starting to feel uncomfortable again, said, “Enough to go down it.” 

Oak leaned over and bumped her shoulder into Finn with a grin as she said, “That’s the spirit.” 

“We’re going to be spirits,” Artho grumbled. “Alright, fine, let’s go down the creepy path.” 

Oak was the first one down it, with Finn following along and Izzy behind them as Artho brought up the rear. It wasn’t long until they walked into a small overgrown meadow with a stone cottage sitting in the center of it. A little bit of smoke came out of one of the two chimneys and the cottage had a bunch of shrubs growing around it and Finn could see where wildflowers had bloomed just a short time before and been left to go to seed in the meadow. Artho knelt down and poked at a flower head without any petals. Oak looked over her shoulder. 

“Is that an Alywn Painted Blanket?” Oak said.

“Looks it,” Artho said. 

“What?” Finn said. “Is that a big deal?” 

Artho got up and said, “Nope. Just out of its range so this is definitely a tended plot.”

Oak looked around a little and said, “Makes me a bit homesick.”

“Thinking of Mom’s flower crowns?” Artho said. 

Oak nodded and they both sighed a little. Izzy remembered the one that Perfuma had put on her head when they first met and how she’d carefully dried it when she got home and hung it on her wall. They all stood there for a moment before Finn said, “Maybe we should walk up to the door because it’s probably a bit weird if someone is home to see us standing out in their front yard staring off into space.” 

They all agreed and began to make their way forward. As they got close, they saw a little outdoor sitting area with a few old lawn chairs sitting out as they got up to the door. They all stood there, staring at each other, and waiting for someone else to knock. Artho finally nudged Finn and whispered, “Well, come on!” 

Finn, feeling their guts tensed up, reached forward and knocked on the rough wood door. Everyone went still at the noise and waited, straining to listen. After a minute went by with no answer, Finn looked at the others. Izzy was doing her best to look relaxed but Finn could tell how nervous she was just by the way she clutched at her satchel and tried to tuck back her buzzed short hair behind her ear. Artho had a bored look on her face that was betrayed by the stinger on her tail twitching. Oak was probably the only one that didn’t look nervous but excited by what might be coming. 

“Again?” Finn whispered and everyone nodded at them. 

Finn reached up to knock when suddenly the door opened up. Standing at the door was a tall woman in a floor length green dress with no sleeves that complemented her blue hair and the blue swirls on her skin. She gave a huge smile as Finn stood there with their hand in the air as she said, “Well, hello! Sorry it took me so long to answer, I was making something in the kitchen and had to get some stuff off my hands! We don’t get a lot of visitors out this way but it’s great to see you! My name is Blu. What can I do for all of you?” 

Finn slowly lowered their hand. The person fit the description but where they’d been expecting some kind of spark of recognition, there was nothing. Finn sat, unblinking, wondering what to do. 

“Are you alright?” Blu said and then looked concerned. “Do you need help?” 

“Um, sorry, yes, I’m fine,” Finn said. “I mean, we’re fine.” 

“Well, that’s good to hear!” Blu replied. “What brings you here though?” 

Izzy frowned, not liking the way Blu seemed to be all cheerfulness. She reminded her of Emma and how she’d put on a fake front but she also knew that Scorpia was full of friendliness and meant every bit of it so she took a breath and reminded herself that she couldn’t apply that to everyone. 

“It’s an odd thing actually,” Finn said. They took a deep breath and said, “Are you from Plumeria by any chance?” 

Blu’s smile never moved but Finn thought they saw her eyes flicker for a moment as she said, “Yes! My spouse and I are both from there.”

Finn took another deep breath and said, “Then did you ever take care of a young child about twelve years back for a little while?” 

Blu’s hands shot up to her mouth as her eyes went wide. 

“Finn?” she said quietly, hesitantly. Finn nodded, feeling weird at her reaction. They realized they’d been expecting a denial and now, met with the opposite, they weren’t sure what to do.

“Yeah, I’m Finn,” they finally replied. 

Blu’s mouth turned up into a hesitant smile as she started to reach out with one hand, slowly, but then stopped, pulled it back, and held it beside her face like she didn’t know what to do with it. Izzy felt herself moving a little behind Finn, feeling out of place as Artho and Oak shuffled their feet a little. 

“I’m sorry,” Blu said. “It’s just… I never thought… well, I just…”

Finn gave a little shrug and said, “I know. I get it. I’d, um, I’d like to talk with you if you’re ok with that.” 

Blu moved backwards and said, “Of course, I’m sorry. Come in, please.” 

Finn stepped forward into a small living room with a big recliner off to one side, a fireplace on the other side, and two big couches in the middle of the room near a table. A closed door was at the back of the room and a hallway sat next to the fireplace. Finn looked around at what little decorating there was, a few generic paintings on the walls, some books on the table, and felt out of place. 

A short woman came out of the hallway and gave everyone a suspicious look. She wore cut off khakis and a t-shirt and looked like she could lift the couches with no effort. Everyone stopped as she walked in. 

“Kiwi, it’s… I don’t know how to say this. It’s Finn,” Blu said, gesturing at Finn. 

Kiwi went gape mouthed for a moment before saying, “What? As in our… our Finn?” 

Finn almost bristled at that assumption, that they belonged to the two in any way, but they fought it down as they said, “I think so. That’s what I’d like to talk about first.” 

Kiwi nodded and was suddenly all smiles as she said, “I understand! Well, get seated, and I have to say I can’t believe this day has come. Never thought it’d happen.” 

Blu gave a big smile for a moment and said, “I don’t either! It’s so unreal!” 

That was when something clicked for Finn. Unreal. That’s how the whole thing felt and was bordering on creepy. The two smiled too much and didn’t seem to be reacting the way that Finn was expecting. They thought about what it had felt like when they’d faced Snow-by across the table and it hadn’t been like this. They’d been awkward and uncomfortable but they hadn’t felt like it was unreal. Then they remembered the lights the night before and how that had felt off at first too but had turned magical. Finn took a quick breath and shook it off as they reasoned this was different from that night in Moraine. It wasn’t some chance encounter, it was deliberately searched out and so was bound to feel different. 

“Finn, sit there in that chair,” Blu said as she pointed at the recliner and then turned to the others. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name dear but I love your hair with the horns, it looks fantastic! How about you sit there?”

She pointed at a couch by the front door. Finn was slowly making their way to the chair and Izzy said very quietly, “My name is Izzy, ma’am.” 

“Well, Izzy, it’s nice to meet you as well!” Blu said. “Make yourself comfortable. You two as well!”

Oak stepped forward with a huge grin and said, “Names Oak, I’m going to sit on the other couch there by Finn if you don’t mind.” 

“Well of course, Oak!” Blu said. 

Artho just nodded at her and said, “Artho. I’ll just park it next to Izzy there.” 

“You’re all so polite!” Blu said as Kiwi sat down on the opposite side of the couch from Oak. 

Blu stood next to the fireplace and looked at the group. Izzy felt uncomfortable and clutched her satchel close to her while she fought the urge not to fiddle with hair that wasn’t there. She looked at Artho who looked back at her and she could feel that Artho was uncomfortable as well. Oak was just looking between everyone with a smile on her face. Kiwi leaned back against the arm of the couch, watching Finn with a little smile. 

“Finn, I… I just don’t know what to say,” Blu said. “I guess I’ll let you start off.” 

Finn thought for a second before saying, “Alright, well I think it’s pretty obvious you knew me back then or else there’s two Finns with awesome ears and a tail running around.” 

Kiwi gave an abrupt nod and Blu let out a laugh that made Izzy flinch a little. 

“Yes, we do. We raised you for years,” Blu said. 

Finn titled their head a little, feeling like that didn’t seem right but again realized they didn’t really know themself or they wouldn’t be out running around trying to find out, and said, “I guess the first question from me is why you didn’t finish raising me. Why did I end up going away?” 

Blu’s face took on a solemn tone and Izzy, watching Kiwi out of the corner of her eye, saw them do the same and for some reason, she thought of an actor on a stage, a beat off their cue. 

“It’s a sad story, really,” Blu said. “We lived in Plumeria and we’d been taking care of you for a while as I said. We were so happy to have you, you were such a great child, but we had a friend, well we thought he was a friend, at the time who lived with us off and on. The two of us were going to celebrate an anniversary and he offered to take care of you for a weekend so we’d have the time to ourselves.” 

Blu looked down as she covered her eyes for a moment and Izzy shifted uncomfortably as she looked away when she realized the woman was trying to fight back tears. Finn and Oak looked away as well. Artho though didn’t take her eyes off of Blu and simply made a little sympathetic noise. 

“Honey, do you want me to finish the story?” Kiwi said from the couch. 

Blu shook her head and took a huge breath and looked up with a sad smile on her face. 

“No, I can do this. It was my mistake,” Blu said as she looked at Kiwi. “You said it would be fine for Finn to be around but I was selfish, I wanted it to be just us.”

Kiwi gave a little tutting noise and Blu held up her hand and said, “I know, we’ve been over it before.” 

Blu turned back to Finn and said, “Well, that person, his name was Snowbee, he took you for the weekend and never came back. We looked for you but it was no use. It was like he’d disappeared and you with him. Then we heard that you’d been found by some princesses and they were raising you and we just… we didn’t want to get involved. We felt like we’d screwed up and honestly we know about one of the princesses that was raising you and she’s got a reputation if you didn’t know and we were scared so we just thought, ‘They’ll be better with them than with us. At least they won’t screw up like we did.’ That’s how it went. We wanted to raise you, be there for you but we weren’t your biological parents, we really had no real claim so we just… let it go.” 

Blu turned around and looked at the mantel above the fireplace. The room was quiet and Finn just felt weird. The story sounded plausible, they could certainly see Snow-by trying to paint themselves in a flattering light, but it made Finn feel uncomfortable instead of sad. Nothing seemed to be adding up and they once again questioned why they were out doing this whole thing. It was that moment that Izzy stood up and said, “I’m sorry but can I get a drink of water?” 

She had pulled out a small collapsible cup that Finn didn’t even know she’d had in her satchel and Kiwi looked at her and said in a booming voice, “Sure thing. Kitchens through the door.”

Izzy felt like she couldn’t quite breathe, the whole situation felt so off. She knew she had a bad time with new people and between this and the huge crowd at the market, she needed to step out of the room and take a moment to get herself together. She walked past Finn and Finn gave her a little smile that she returned. 

“I know about Mother’s reputation,” Finn said, as Izzy walked through the kitchen door. “It might have been true years ago but really, she’s not like that anymore. She’s fantastic. So is Mom.”

Finn noticed Kiwi seemed to be just sitting there when she wasn’t reacting to Blu and didn’t know what to make of it. She seemed to just be idling, like a stagehand helping an actor with a reading during a long monologue, and Finn wasn’t sure what to think. It was creepy but not in any way Finn could directly explain. 

Blu said, “I’m so happy to hear that! You hear things about the princesses sometimes. We just weren’t sure but I’m so happy for you that you ended up somewhere good.” 

Blu had a huge smile on her face and Finn was nodding along with her, not really agreeing, just not sure what to say as Artho and Oak looked between everyone. After a long moment of silence Finn said, “I have to ask, you said you’re not my biological parents. Did you get me from them? Do you know them?” 

Finn would always remember what happened next as sharp and clear as the moment that it happened. Blu was shaking her head and was about to say something, Finn was sitting in the recliner, still trying to figure out why everything felt so weird, why Kiwi and Blu were creeping them out so bad even though everything seemed friendly. Then Finn heard shouting from the kitchen, followed by a brief scream, high and clear, and then the door that Izzy had gone through went breaking apart as someone came flying through it to crash into the back of the couch that Kiwi and Oak were sitting on. 

Everyone jumped to their feet, shouting, confused, except for Finn. Finn sat in the recliner, not moving. They felt distant from the whole thing suddenly and watched it play out almost like they were watching a play from the audience. They saw Izzy step over the shattered remains of the bottom of the door with a face that Finn had first seen on her right before she’d knocked her father senseless. 

“I told you not to touch me,” Izzy said, low and quiet, as the figure that had come through the door struggled up off the floor, pieces of the door falling off of them. Finn recognized that figure almost immediately. It was easy since they’d last seen him in a pub in Moraine just recently.

“Snow-by!?” Finn said in shock.

Snow-by didn’t bother to look at Finn but kept focused tightly on Izzy who stood only a few feet from him. He started to bring his fists up and Izzy involuntarily let a slow grin spread across her face as she said, “Is that really what you want to do?” 

"You caught me by surprise is all," he said through gritted teeth. 

Oak caught on pretty quick and started to move to flank Snow-by while Artho looked between Kiwi, Blu, and Snow-by, her tail twitching. Blu was trying to talk, to say something to calm everyone down as she started to step into the center of the room, but no one seemed to be paying attention. 

Then Finn heard a buzz of electricity and Artho fell onto the coffee table, collapsing it. Finn saw Kiwi lunge sideways and the old Horde stun baton connected with Oak as she tried to dodge out of the way. She slumped backwards and slid down the wall by the chair Finn was sitting in. Snow-by put their arms up yelling at Kiwi to stop. 

Finn suddenly snapped to attention as they realized this wasn't just some play, that this was very serious and real, and started scrambling for the emergency beacon around their neck as they stood and shouted, "Izzy! Run!"

Izzy wasn't paying attention because she saw her opening and shot two fast punches into Snow-by's chest. All the air went out of him as he collapsed to the floor gasping. She changed her focus just in time to see Blu drop Finn with another stun baton she’d grabbed from somewhere when Izzy had been focused on Snow-by. 

The room went still. Finn had fallen backwards into the chair they'd just got out of and lay still, Artho and Oak were sprawled on the ground, and Snow-by lay on the ground trying to get his lungs to start working right again. Kiwi and Blu stood on one side of the couch, Izzy on the other, eyeing each other while Izzy let out a long, slow growling noise that was starting to unnerve the other two. 

"This is just a misunderstanding," Blu said, trying to smile as she lowered the baton a little. "Let's just stay calm, we can talk this out."

As she said that, Kiwi started to slowly move around the couch and Izzy turned a little to track her movement. 

"Give it up, kid, it's us against you, you're cornered, and we're armed," Kiwi said. 

Izzy wondered what to do as her adrenaline rush started to ebb a little and fear started flooding in. Kiwi took another step, almost around the couch, and Izzy realized they were all in deep trouble. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Whatever shall become of Izzy!? *dun dun duuuunnnnnn*_
> 
> It's fun to come back to these chapters I wrote a while back (I think this one was in early November) and be able to notice little things that I know to do better now when it comes to writing, just in that short frame of time. And of course, make those changes. The main plot isn't changing any, just really how I describe something or phrase it. Anyway, we're rolling right along now aren't we? Aren't you glad there aren't week breaks between chapters anymore?


	22. A Bringer of New Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything has gone sideways and Izzy has been faced with a hard choice. What will she do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Finn woke up to a pounding headache and Izzy speaking to them as they were laid out on the floor. 

"You ok?" Izzy said as she rested a hand on Finn's shoulder. 

Finn nodded, feeling their head swirl, as they said, "I think so. What's going on?" 

"It got real dicey there for a moment," Izzy said with a big smile. "It's alright though. We've worked it out." 

Finn looked at Izzy and then struggled to sit up. They looked around and saw they were in a bedroom and didn’t see anyone else around. 

"Where's Artho and Elm?" Finn said. 

Izzy frowned as she said, "You mean Artho and Oak? Are you sure you're alright?"

Finn shook their head a little and flinched as the throbbing spiked for a moment but said, "Yeah, sorry, Oak. I guess I'm a little scrambled still." 

"They're alright," Izzy said. "They're in the kitchen right now talking with Kiwi."

Finn was a bit shaky as they started to stand up carefully off the floor to sit down on the edge of the bed. Izzy sat down on a chair across from them. 

"What's going on, Iz?" Finn said, holding their head. 

"Just a weird misunderstanding really," Izzy said. "We've all talked it out while you were out, it's no big deal. They're all sorry for hurting you, I've accepted their apology, and we'll move on from this. You and me, we'll go move the vehicle up as soon as you feel like you can walk alright?"

Finn looked and saw the emergency beacon sitting on the dresser and heaved a sigh of relief as they carefully stood up. 

"Oh thank Mara, Mom's necklace!" Finn said as they started to walk over to it. "I remember her telling me about how she took it out of the last Horde tank she ever drove before she switched sides when her and Other Mom got together. I was afraid I'd lost it. It means so much to her."

Izzy smiled at Finn as they picked up the beacon and said, "Remember how I told you about how she said it was the firing switch for the cannon and she thought it was good luck?"

"I do!" Izzy said with enthusiasm.

Finn smiled at her as they said, "Of course you would. It was that first night when I made us dinner after coming back from Dryl and we first said we love each other."

Finn looked down with a little shy smile as they fiddled with the beacon, flipping the latch back and forth as they continued on and said, "That was the first night I told you 'for our whole life.' We've certainly come along. We're sure making our life, right?"

Finn looked up at Izzy with a gentle smile as she gave a huge smile back at Finn. She stepped forward and looked in Finn's eyes and cupped the side of Finn's face. As she did Finn dropped one hand to the side with the beacon in it and hit the button as the other hand cupped Izzy's hand. 

"We certainly are making our life," she said with a smile. 

Finn suddenly flinched before she got any closer and made a noise of pain before pulling back. 

"I'm sorry," Finn said. "I guess I'm not top notch yet. Could you grab me some water, please?"

Finn staggered over to a chair, wondering how long before Glimmer showed up and if she'd figure out what was going on quickly enough. 

"Sure," Izzy said. "We'll go get the vehicle afterwards then?"

Finn nodded and smiled. Izzy left and came back almost ten minutes later and handed Finn a cup. Finn had put the beacon back around their neck, not really sure what else to do. As Finn held the water, they weren't sure they should drink it and took a few deep breaths trying to stall. 

"What's wrong?" Izzy said and Finn could hear a barely contained irritation in her voice. 

Finn started to say something when they heard a crashing noise from the front of the house. Izzy jumped in surprise as Finn flashed a savage smile as they said, "You're a terrible actor."

Finn saw a pink and purple flash light up the room as Glimmer teleported in and nailed Izzy in the face with a flash of light, following up with a spell that knocked her down so fast they seemed to happen almost at once. As she fell, she shifted shape and Finn saw Blu dropping to the floor, stunned. 

"Good?" Glimmer said as she hit the ground in a crouch, both hands holding charged spells. 

Finn nodded and she teleported back out. Finn sat the cup down on the floor and listened to the incredibly short, and incredibly loud, fight taking place in the front of the house. They weren't sure what to do so they just sat quietly next to Blu who'd started to snore a little. 

It was a short time later that Izzy came bursting through the door, covered in dirt, and came over to Finn to grab them in a tight hug. 

"I'm so sorry! I should've seen it sooner! I'm so sorry!" Izzy said as she cried. 

Finn began crying as well and they were both clinging to each other when Adora stepped in. Finn looked at her, normal every day Adora, then down at the not normal everyday sword in her hand that she held as easy as letting her heart beat. Her eyes were hard but when she looked at Finn and Izzy, they softened before tracking down to Blu, along with the tip of the sword, and her eyes went hard again as her eyes flashed blue for a moment. 

“Mom, don’t,” Finn whispered. Adora turned back to Finn and gave a strained smile. 

“I’m not going to do anything, sweetheart,” Adora said as the sword vanished and she stepped over to wrap them both in her arms. “Are you both ok?” 

Finn nodded as they sniffled a little and said, “I am now.”

Izzy nodded silently and Adora gave them both a tight hug. Blu made a groaning noise from the floor and Adora flipped around putting herself between Blu and Izzy and Finn. Without turning around she said, “Izzy, take Finn out to the living room please.”

“Mom, what are you going to do?” Finn said, worry in their voice. 

“Nothing like what you’re worried about. I’m going to get her off the ground and be right behind you,” Adora said as she looked over her shoulder with a reassuring smile. 

Finn nodded and they walked out of the room as Adora hefted Blu up off the ground and over her shoulder as she walked right behind them. Finn saw they were in the hallway and could see the shattered door to the kitchen up ahead. It was only a couple of steps and they were into the living room or what was left of it. The front door was in tiny pieces scattered across the living room and the frame itself was shattered. Finn was confused as to where one of the couches had gone until they noticed that it lay in pieces, small pieces, around the front yard. The other one was standing on end in one corner of the room, partially embedded in a wall. The only thing that didn’t look like it had been touched was the recliner where Artho and Oak both sat comfortably on the arms watching Catra. 

Catra was crouched down in front of Kiwi and Snow-by with a wide grin that had no warmth whatsoever in it. They were both sitting on the fireplace as she slowly switched her gaze between one and the other as her tail flicked back and forth and Finn noticed that she was slowly sheathing and unsheathing her claws. Adora sat Blu down beside the other three and then stepped to the side of Catra as Catra included Blu in her slow back and forth.

“Mother, stop it,” Finn said. 

“I’m not doing anything, kiddo,” Catra said, her eyes not coming off the three. “Just keeping an eye on them.” 

“We can all see them,” Finn said. “Back away. Please.” 

Catra turned to look at Finn, grimaced a little, nodded, stood up and stepped back. 

“Better?” she said quietly.

“Yes, thank you,” Finn said. 

Glimmer walked into the room from the outside and said, “Rest of the place seems clear.” 

Adora nodded and said, “Alright, you four, are you all ok?”

They all nodded and Adora turned back to the three on the ground. 

“I guess now we figure out what to do with them,” she said. 

Blu looked up from where she was clutching her head and said, “If I can speak up on our behalf…”

Catra glared at her as she said, “You can’t, shut up.” 

“Mother, I need a moment to talk with them,” Finn said as they stepped up to her side.

Catra looked at Finn and said, “Why?” 

Finn turned to look at Blu and said, “Because right before everything went bad, I was asking her if she knew my biological parents. And Blu, it’s pretty obvious, with Snow-by sitting beside you, that the story you were telling me was made up but I want to give you a chance to tell me the truth. I don’t care about the path that took me to where I am now. I already know that. I care about the path that I took to get to you. Tell me, please.” 

Kiwi grunted and said, “Why would we help you at all at this point?” 

“Because if you don’t…,” Catra started to say before Finn cut her off. 

“Mother, no, please, I’m speaking with them,” Finn said. “If I need your help, I’ll ask. I promise.” 

Catra crossed her arms and glared at the three sitting down as Finn took a step forward and crouched down. Kiwi grunted and looked away and Snow-by kept his eyes on the ground but Blu kept looking at Finn. Izzy walked up from where she’d been standing by Artho and Oak and stood right behind Finn, glaring at the three. Finn looked up at her and before they could say anything she looked down at them and said, “I love you but don’t you even think about asking me to step back.” 

Finn patted her boot and turned back to catch Blu’s eyes again. 

“To answer Kiwi’s question of why would you help me, it’s because I’m asking you to. I don’t know what Mother was going to say but I’ll say because if you don’t, it’s the wrong thing to do and in a day full of wrong steps, take one in another direction,” Finn said. 

Blu sighed and was about to speak when Kiwi put her arm in front of Blu and said, “Hang on. We’ll tell you but we want some amnesty or something. Otherwise, no dice.” 

Glimmer snorted and was about to say something when Finn turned to look at Kiwi with a pitying look and said, “No amnesty but I’ll let you pick where you do your rehabilitation.” 

Kiwi looked at them with a hard look as she said, “What do you mean?” 

“Well, cooperate and you can do your rehabilitation somewhere nice like Bright Moon,” Finn said. 

“The three princesses here are all from Bright Moon. I was already going there, kid, or the castle at Dryl at the worst. So try again or are you just going to try threatening me with those three?” Kiwi grinned as she nodded her head at Adora, Catra, and Glimmer.

Finn shrugged and said, “No, there’s no need for that. Because you might not know this but the princesses do favors for each other all the time.”

Finn looked over their shoulder at Glimmer and said, “Aunt Glimmer, you think Aunt Huntara would do a favor for you and take these three on for their rehabilitation in the Crimson Waste?” 

Catra turned away as she hid a huge grin as she saw exactly where Finn was going. Adora placed a hand over her mouth as well to hide a smile. Glimmer gave a sweet smile and said, “Oh, I know she will.”

Finn turned back to give the same pitying look to Kiwi and said, “So if you’ve got nothing to say then I guess I’m at a dead end in my search and you, all of you, get to go to the Crimson Waste.” 

Artho was watching quietly from the back, no real emotion on her face for the moment, but Oak was leaning forward, eyes wide, like she should have a bucket of popcorn in front of her.

“Now hang on!” Blu shouted, causing Izzy to tense up. Blu saw the movement and said in a more normal tone, “I was going to talk! She can go on to the Waste for all I care but I have no problem telling you what happened! And I was going to talk without any promises. I just want everyone to remember that.” 

Finn turned their eyes to her as they said in a deadpan voice, “That’s very noble of you. I still haven’t heard anything though.” 

“We got you from a smuggler crew that was operating along the Salineas coast. We knew them, you had been living on the boat with them, and they’d come up with an idea for using you in some scam but it wasn’t working cause, well, you were a little kid,” Blu said quickly. “We agreed to watch you, they found some short guy that could pass off as a kid close enough, and used him.” 

“You agreed to watch them!” Kiwi said, hotly. “I didn’t want anything to do with it!”

Snow-by said, “Well you two didn’t do a heck of a lot of watching, always shucking them off on one friend or another for as long as you could manage! Why do you think I took them?” 

“Hey, you screwed up then and you screwed up now!” Kiwi shot back. “If you’d just lied to the kid in the first place when you saw them again instead of telling them about us we wouldn’t have this problem! But you’ve got that noble streak now cause you feel guilty, you evil twerp! What kind of person abandons a kid on a sidewalk?” 

Catra spoke quietly but the whole room went silent as she said, “Good question, what kind of person does do such a thing?” 

Snow-by looked at her with fear across his face and Finn turned to Catra to say, “Thank you for getting them to be quiet at least, Mother. If you don’t mind though?” 

“Of course not,” Catra said, nodding at Finn. “I’m sorry to have interrupted.” 

Finn turned back to them and said, “Listen, you’re all going to have a good chance to talk all this out later with some good Listeners but for now I just need to know who the crew is and if they’re still around.”

Kiwi shook her head and said, “Nope. Not talking. You know enough and you can send me to the Waste, I don’t care.” 

“Most of the crew has moved on and the person they got for the scam is a farmer near the Fright Zone now,” Blu said. “But the captain is still in charge of the ship and she operates out of Seaworthy and the Enchanted Grotto.” 

“Are you out of your mind!?” Kiwi said. “Don’t tell them about her!” 

“Shut! Up!” Blu shouted at Kiwi who flinched backwards. “Her name is Orca. Her ship's name is…” 

“Orca’s Fantastic Adventure,” Adora said. 

“Yes!” Blu said, nodding vigorously. 

Glimmer, Catra, and Adora were all looking at each other as Glimmer said, “I told you I should have used a truth spell.” 

“You’ve been holding that ‘I told you so’ for over a decade haven’t you?” Catra said. 

“No, but I did tell you so,” Glimmer said. 

“Is this the crew you were telling me about when we went to Seaworthy?” Finn said. 

“Yes, it is and yes, before you ask, I’m incredibly irritated right now that we missed this,” Adora said. 

“Because Orca is smarter than you,” Kiwi said, smugness dripping off every word. “If you think you’re going to get anything out of her, you’re wrong. You’ll be lucky to even find her.” 

“Glimmer, take that one on over to Huntara would you?” Catra said, nodding at Kiwi.

“No, Aunt Glimmer,” Finn said. “Blu told us what we wanted. Take them  _ all _ to Bright Moon.” 

“Sorry, sounds like Finn’s in charge here,” Glimmer said with a grin. “Gotta follow their orders.” 

Catra rolled her eyes and Glimmer stepped up and grabbed Kiwi by her shoulder and jumped out. As Blu and Snow-by sat huddled up as they both waited in silence. Finn broke the silence and said, “Why? Why did you come here, Snow-by? Was it a trap? Did you come up with this sitting in that room back in Moraine?” 

Snow-by shook his head and said, “No, I just… I just thought they should get to know as well but I should have known better. They started plotting for the day you showed up as soon as I told them. I tried to leave but they wouldn’t let me.” 

Blu looked at Finn for a moment, nodded, before looking back down. Glimmer jumped back in and Adora stepped forward, shaking her head, and Glimmer stepped back. 

“You know, I thought about what you told me that night, about her,” Snow-by said, finally looking up at Finn and nodding at Catra. “You’re right, I’m just trying to always find the easy way out.”

Finn knelt down and was about to say something when Catra stepped forward and said, “The other one, I don’t think she has any desire to be different. You, Snow-by, I think you do. And Blu, as much as you’re blustering and conniving, I think maybe you do as well.”

Snow-by nodded, Blu looked up and just stared at Catra for a long moment before nodding herself. Catra stared hard at them before she finally said, “You know, I keep getting told that I’m a princess and I guess I am since I married one. Well, I think that means I can pass a sentence on you. You’re going to Bright Moon, you’re going to go through the rehabilitation but I’ve got one more for you. Are you ready to hear it?” 

“Mother…,” Finn said slowly. 

Catra turned to Finn and gave a soft smile as she said, “Trust your Mother, kiddo.” 

Finn nodded at her and she turned back to Blu and Snow-by to say, “Well? What do you say?” 

Blu stood up and said, “I am.” 

Snow-by stood up as well as he said, “I am.” 

Catra stepped up to them both and put her hand on their shoulders. 

“This is a life sentence. I’m serving the same one to this day. A good woman passed it on me years ago,” Catra said before she paused and took a deep breath. “I sentence you to hard labor for the rest of your life, to wake up every day and work hard to be better than you were the day before. I sentence you to work harder every day to help those around you and to heal what you’ve broken. Do all of this so that you will know on your last day alive that you are leaving this world better because you existed in it.”

Catra paused for a moment to let the words sink in before she said, “Look me in the eye. You know my story so you know what a mess I made so when I say it’s not too late for either one of you then I hope you know that I’m serious. Do you understand?” 

Snow-by looked a bit shocked but just slowly nodded. Blu looked off into the distance but then snapped to and nodded as well. 

“It’s a tough sentence. You don’t get to take the easy way out of your problems anymore but it’s worth it,” Catra said. “You ready to go now?” 

“I am,” Blu said quietly. 

“Me too,” Snow-by said. 

“I’ll be checking in on you personally,” Catra said as she let go of their shoulders. “Good luck.”

Catra stepped back and nodded at Glimmer who stepped forward to jump them both out at once. Finn walked over and hugged Catra tight. 

“That was great, Mother,” Finn said. “Who said that to you?” 

Catra hugged them back as she said, “Your Aunt Angie. She was a bit more blunt about it as well as how she knew I’d stick to it though.” 

Adora stepped forward with a frown on her face as she said, “I remember that.”

“I know you weren’t happy about it,” Catra said. “It’s what I needed then though. Hopefully it’ll do the same for them as well.” 

Finn stepped over to Izzy and took her hand. She was shivering a little as Finn led her to the recliner where Oak was sprawled out and Artho still sat silently. Oak hopped up so Izzy could sit down. Finn said, “I’m sorry I got us into this. I should have been more careful.” 

Oak grinned as she said, “The only thing I’m mad about is that I was tied up in the kitchen when they came in. It must have been something to see.” 

Artho looked up and said, “I’m just glad we’re going back to Bright Moon after this. I really need a break. This one thing after another thing… I’m not ashamed to say it’s really wearing on me.” 

Finn grasped her shoulder and said, “I understand. I’ll remind everyone, you can stop any time. I’m not going to be mad.” 

“Naw,” Artho said with a weak smile. “I made a sacred vow after all.” 

“I thought you held nothing sacred?” Finn said.

“Well, I guess I hold one thing sacred after all,” Artho said. “You all.”

Catra wrapped her arm around Adora’s waist as she leaned into Adora with a smile. 

Finn knelt down in front of Izzy and placed a hand on her knee as they said, “Iz, are you alright?”

Izzy nodded, clutching her satchel tight, her hand running over two burn marks on the bag. Finn noticed but figured they’d ask later as they sighed and sat down leaning against the recliner. Glimmer jumped back in at that moment and looked around. 

“Got them settled,” Glimmer said. “I’m going to go have a talk with the head of the town in a few, let them know what’s going on. You alright?”

The Team looked at her, tired, worn out, but hanging on as Izzy looked at her and said, “We’re living the life.” 

Finn leaned their head against Izzy’s leg and hugged it. After a little bit of time, they got the front door boarded up so nothing would wander in and out, Glimmer let the head of the town know what was going on, and then they all walked over to where they were camping. The Team stayed close to each other, silent but holding hands in a single row as they walked, and soon were back at the tent shortly after nightfall. 

Adora immediately started getting lanterns set up and rummaged through until she found some packed food. The Team all sat in their chairs as Catra and Glimmer hauled one of the cots out of the tent to sit on like a bench as Adora whistled a little as she cooked. Oak, staring off into the woods, suddenly started out with heaving sobs. Artho was on her feet and holding her close as she cried while Izzy and Finn were both by her side in a moment as well. 

“What’s wrong?” Artho said. 

“I… don’t… know…,” Oak managed to gasp out. 

Izzy said, “I do. I’ve read about it. Delayed reaction to the fear. You’ll be ok. Try and take deep breaths. We’re all here for you.”

Izzy held Oak’s hand in a tight grasp as Finn ran their hand down her back and Artho rested her forehead on the side of her head and whispered something quietly in her ear as Adora, Glimmer, and Catra stepped away into the field for a moment to talk quietly before coming back a few minutes later. In that time, Oak had calmed down a little and was taking deep breaths. When the three got back, Oak looked at them as she wiped at her tears and said, “I saw you go off for a conference. If you’re about to forbid us from going on, I’m going to laugh at you as soon as I can.” 

Adora went back to cooking as she said, “Nothing of the sort.”

Glimmer sat back down and said, “In fact, I was just remarking on how well you four take care of each other.”

“What do you mean?” Izzy said. 

“Well, you all were up in an instant to help Oak,” Glimmer said. “Earlier today you faced off against something dangerous and came through. You’re adventurers, whether we like it or not.”

Adora grimaced as she hauled a big pot of food to the table and said, “And I have to say, it’s definitely a not on my end but Glimmer’s right. You all take care of each other.”

“I’m sorry, Adora, I’m what?” Glimmer said with a grin. 

“I’m not repeating myself,” Adora said with a grunt. 

“Mother, what do you think?” Finn said. 

Catra said, “You were worried about how I’d treat prisoners earlier and then cleverly got them to talk. I’m going to be worried about all of you, and I’m not looking forward to telling your moms about this you two, but I’m not going to say no. Probably wouldn’t make any difference anyway.” 

A grin flashed over Artho’s face as she said, “You’re right on that count.” 

Catra laughed and said, “Besides, after charging through the front door of that cottage with Izzy at my side, I’d be a hypocrite to say no now.” 

“Wait, what? Izzy wasn’t with you two?” Finn said, looking at Artho and Oak. 

Oak, sniffing a little, said, “No, she wasn’t. I thought she was with you.” 

Finn shook their head and said, “No, that was Blu shapeshifted as Izzy.” 

Izzy was looking down, not wanting to say anything, as Glimmer said, “Finn, how do you think I knew to nail Blu in the face with that spell?”

Finn looked to Izzy as they said, “I didn’t think about it. I just figured you knew.” 

Glimmer shook her head and said, “No, Izzy was waiting for us outside when we showed up. She gave us a rough idea of the layout of the place. It’s how we were able to take it down so fast.” 

Finn took Izzy’s hand and gently ran their thumb over it as they said, “Can… can you tell us what happened? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” 

“Can we eat first? We haven’t eaten since that kib on the steps this morning,” Izzy said. 

Finn gave her a kiss and said, “I appreciate that you have priorities.” 

Izzy gave a small smile as she said, “I’m stalling, Finn.” 

Finn gave the small smile back as they said, “I know. Mother does the same thing.” 

“I do not!” Catra said.

“Yes, you do,” Adora said deadpan. 

They shared plates and bowls around to everyone and split up the flatware sets they had so everyone had something to eat with and had a quiet meal crowded around the table together. Oak started to feel a bit better after getting some food into her and after dinner, they all pitched in to clean up. Soon they were sitting back around the table. 

Izzy placed her satchel on the table and fiddled with it for a moment before saying, “Is everyone ready to hear this?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter. I loved that I was able to either have it be a surprise or get you so invested that you're chomping at the bit to read more. I will say, the magical moment from the previous chapter served two purposes. One, I just liked the idea, thought it would be fun to do but also it was to have them react to something that made them nervous and then have it be a magical moment. Which then means the next time something nervous happens just a little while later... think of it like having a cat jump scare in a movie to then follow it up with the actual scare. 
> 
> Anyway, if you're wondering when Angella told off Catra, it's from another story I wrote in The Lyrical Anthology. It's called _What Do I Have to Do?_ if you want to read it. If you're just curious about what Angella said to make it a bit blunter, she used Adora against her (read the brief passage below).
>
>> Then she stepped forward and looked straight into Catra’s eyes. “And I might not be able to hold anything over you to enforce this but I will say this. Do it because if you don’t, you’ll hurt Adora. Fail at this, backslide, and you’ll crush her and you know it. She might even stay with you but you’ll know what you’ve broken and that it will never be the same. It will be like ashes in your mouth. I think you’d hurt yourself all day without a thought but I think you’d die rather than hurt her again. Do you have any questions?” 
> 
> Anyway, we're rolling right along now aren't we? Thank you for reading! 


	23. Have suffer'd greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izzy remembers just what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Izzy had gone into the kitchen to take a breath, get out of the weird situation in the living room, and there she’d seen Snow-by standing in front of the sink. He’d rushed up to her, trying to shush her as she told him not to touch her and as she backed up, he’d made a grab for her. Instincts, even though they were new to her, took over at that moment as she grabbed his wrist and then planted her hip and heaved using his momentum against him as he started to scream. She hadn’t planned on it but she’d been right in front of the door to the kitchen and he’d plowed through it with her throw. 

Catra had started to smile as Izzy told the story and said, “I saw what was left of that door. You definitely followed through on the throw like I always told you. Proud of you.” 

Izzy had given a shy smile as she looked down for a moment before continuing. The rest was fast she’d said. She hadn’t seen Finn go down but after she’d dropped Snow-by again, she’d seen what was going on and knew she needed to do something fast. 

Izzy looked at Kiwi, almost around the couch with the stun baton in her hand and a cold smile on her face, when Izzy moved her arm a little and felt the satchel bump against her as she shifted again and began to back up towards the kitchen. She knew she couldn't get out through the kitchen because the back door had been blocked with a bunch of boxes but she was trying to get a little space. 

“Go on in there if you want,” Kiwi said with the same cold smile. “It’ll just make this easier.” 

“Kiwi, stop it! You’re scaring her!” Blu said. “Honey, really, this is a misunderstanding. Just come on over here. Really, we’re not going to hurt you. We can still talk this out. I promise!” 

Izzy started growling again, hearing a promise used in such a disgusting way, and Kiwi paused for a moment from the look on her face. Blu lowered the stun baton all the way and gave a friendly smile as she stepped forward with a hand out. 

“Seriously,” Blu said. “What can it hurt? Just take it easy. It’s just an ugly misunderstanding.”

Kiwi was nodding her head but had yet to come out of the crouch with the baton aimed forward as she said, “Yeah, that’s right. Just a bad misunderstanding. We can fix this.” 

Izzy straightened up a little and looked at Blu, trying to make her face as open as possible, as she said, “You really promise?” 

Blu gave a smile as she leaned her head to one side and said, “Of course!”

Izzy nodded and then lunged sideways towards Kiwi who was almost in range with the stun baton. Kiwi yelled and lunged forward but Izzy had already shifted her satchel with one hand and caught the prongs of the baton on it. She felt the electricity arc through it but not strong enough to knock her down. In the meantime, she was stomping downwards with her heel towards Kiwi’s foot. Izzy connected and then struck upwards with her other hand. Kiwi was already off balance though and the foot stomp had caused her to trip and start to fall so the strike didn’t connect as Izzy had intended. 

“I got lucky on that one though,” Izzy said. “I guess I hit a nerve bundle in her upper arm instead of what I aimed at cause she dropped the stun baton.”

Adora, Catra, and Glimmer all nodded as Adora said, “You need luck in that kind of thing. Be glad.” 

Finn was running their hand along Izzy’s back as she told the story and she went quiet for a moment then. She looked at Finn, Oak, and Artho and said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you all more. I ran at this point. Kiwi had fallen back just far enough that I was able to roll over the couch and managed to hit the ground with my feet. Artho, I actually tripped over you as I went for the front door.”

Izzy had managed to land on her feet after she’d dove over the couch and was making for the front door when her feet had hit Artho’s feet and for a moment she thought she was going to fall. Blu was almost right next to her and she knew if she lost her footing, that was it. Kiwi was on the ground screaming at Snow-by to get up and help as she grabbed her stun baton and Izzy managed to keep her footing as she went around the other couch and made the front door. She was waiting for the sound of the stun baton from Blu and then a shock in the back but it never came and as she wrenched the door open, for a split second she could see Blu still standing by the fireplace with her stun baton by her side, watching her go. 

Izzy didn’t wait to see what was up with that and bolted out into the front yard. She grabbed a lawn chair and threw it at the front door, hoping that whoever came after her would at least trip over it, and ran for the trees. When she hit the tree line, she heard Kiwi hit the lawn chair and fall to the ground. Izzy went on into the trees running and panting as she heard Kiwi shouting something she couldn’t quite make out. She stopped for a moment and looked back the way she’d come and saw that she was deep into the brush. She dropped to the ground and took a moment to rub dirt on her face to try and hide herself before she quickly dug into the satchel and hauled out the data pad. She turned it on but it glitched and the main screen was nothing but lines of pixels running up and down it. She realized that it had probably been damaged by the stun baton. She tried to type a message out, start a call, but nothing worked. She finally shut it down and shoved it back into her satchel as she heard crunching in the brush near her. 

Izzy crouched low to the ground, shaking in fear, as she wondered what she could do now. She knew the way back to town but she wondered if she’d be able to make it as she couldn’t exactly go flouncing up the street. Through the brush, she caught a glimpse of Kiwi as they slowly walked through. Izzy, as quietly as she could, lay down in a small depression in the ground behind a tree and tried to make herself as small as possible as Kiwi frequently stopped and tried to spot her. 

Finn hugged her close as she stopped telling the story with a shudder. 

“Iz, you don’t have to go on,” Finn said. “This is… well, horrifying. I wasn’t even awake for it so I can’t imagine what you had to deal with.” 

Artho and Oak nodded as Artho said, “I agree. Obviously it worked out because we’re all sitting here. You don’t have to go on.” 

Izzy sighed as she said, “No, I want to tell it. I need to get it out of me. It doesn’t have long to go.”

Izzy watched as Kiwi slowly walked on, not noticing her laying in the dirt and leaves, and Izzy lay there a little longer, trying not to jump at every little sound in the forest. She slowly crept towards the road, thinking she’d be able to follow it from the brush. She was carefully creeping along the path towards the road, almost to it, when she saw the flash of Glimmer teleporting onto the path. She rushed that way, wondering what was going on. 

“Scared us too when you came bursting out of the brush,” Glimmer said. “All covered in dirt and twigs and leaves.” 

“I’m sorry, I was just so relieved that help had arrived,” Izzy said.

“Naw, don’t apologize,” Catra said. “I was glad we didn’t have to go in blind.” 

“Aunt Glimmer, how come you didn’t jump right to the beacon?” Finn said. 

“Well, you had said that you were going to go try and find these people,” Glimmer replied. “I figured when I got the call that something had gone awry with that and figured I didn’t want to go right into it. I figured a little recon couldn’t hurt.”

Catra shuddered as she said, “Which means she jumped to us and grabbed us with almost no warning, then jumped us into the air above the cottage to get a look, which means  _ falling _ , and  _ then _ she jumped us onto the path.”

Oak, who was enthralled with the story, said, “Well, I know I was just a blubbering mess but I gotta know what happened next.” 

Adora smiled and said, “Izzy caught us up to speed.” 

Izzy didn’t remember it quite that smoothly. When she’d come bursting out of the bushes she’d been almost hysterical and near tears as she ran up to them, not noticing at first that Glimmer had brought up a spell or that Catra dropped into a crouch with her claws out. Adora had just cupped her hand but Izzy wouldn’t recognize why until a bit later. 

“Izzy!?” Adora had said as she recognized Izzy. She stepped forward and caught her up in her arms. “What’s going on?” 

“It’s gone bad! They attacked us! They have Finn, Oak, and Artho! They had stun batons and I fought to get out and I think at least one of them is still out in the woods looking for me!” Izzy said. 

Catra had bristled her tail out when she heard the news but had simply nodded at the other two and disappeared off the path into the brush with barely a noise as Adora, tense as well, had said, “Alright, it’s alright. We’re here. We’ll get this sorted right now. Are they in the house still?” 

“I think so. It’s only been a short time,” Izzy said. 

Glimmer put her hand on Izzy’s shoulder as she said, “Alright, can you give us an idea of what the inside is like?”

Izzy nodded and said, “You go in the front door, there’s a living room. Door in the back wall going to a kitchen, hallway going off the living room. I don’t know what’s down the hallway.” 

Glimmer nodded and said, “How many people and is there a back door?” 

Izzy said, “They have one but it was blocked up with boxes. It’s in the kitchen. And there’s three of them.” 

Catra came back out of the brush and said, “Didn’t see or hear anyone out in the brush but I did get up to the edge of the field we saw from the air. No one was there either; they must be inside.”

Adora nodded in thought as she said, “Alright, Glimmer, get us right to the front door. I’ll take care of entry, Catra goes through the front door to clear the main room. Glimmer, jump to the kitchen as soon as it starts, clear, then the other rooms. Signal if you need us. Everyone, take down targets if they present themselves. I’ll come in behind Catra and handle healing if needed. Izzy, you get hidden out here. We’ll come find you when it’s over. The word we’ll say when we come to find you is...” 

Adora had kept her arm over Izzy’s shoulder to keep her close but Izzy had immediately shoved Adora’s arm off and said, “It won’t be anything because I am absolutely not doing that. I’m going in with you.” 

“Izzy, this is serious…,” Catra started to say evenly when Izzy cut her off. 

“You’re either going to have to knock me out or tie me up because that’s the only way I’m not following you,” Izzy had spat out, the image of Finn laid out in the recliner in her head flashing in her head like a flag before a bull. 

Adora saw the fear across Izzy’s face but the rage in her eyes was brighter. She didn’t waste time as she turned to the other two and said, “Alright, one change. Izzy goes in behind Catra and I’ll follow her. Are we ready?” 

Catra looked like she wanted to argue but just shook her head. None of them wanted to wait. Everyone huddled up and Glimmer jumped them all to the front of the house. Right before they teleported Izzy heard Adora start to say, “For the honor…,” 

It was cut off by the jump and when they landed in front of the house, Adora finished saying, “... of Grayskull.”

Izzy blinked in the sudden flash and then was stunned for a split second as she saw Adora as She-Ra towering over her. A split second later Adora blew the door to bits and Catra went running in before the bits had even settled down. Izzy didn’t waste time being stunned as she went in right behind Catra, screaming at the top of her lungs. She saw Catra vault over the first couch headed for Kiwi who was scrambling to get behind the couch closest to the kitchen for some kind of cover. Without slowing down, Catra grabbed the edge of the second couch and threw it to the side where it bashed into the wall and embedded in the corner. 

Izzy was around the first couch and headed straight for Kiwi, her scream having given way to a growl, when Adora stepped into the house finally, about two seconds after the whole thing had started. She grabbed the first couch and heaved it out into the front yard, taking part of the door frame with it, where it shattered into pieces from the force of the throw. Izzy never reached Kiwi for the fight as Catra didn’t even try for subtle. Kiwi threw a punch and Catra seemed to almost glide to the side as she got a grip on her wrist and elbow and used them as a lever. Then Kiwi was falling forward to hit the stone fireplace and slump down. Izzy knew in theory what Catra did, since Catra had shown it to her in training, but seeing it in actual use was so fast that it was only later that Izzy really understood what had happened.

“It was pretty much over at that point,” Izzy said. “Glimmer came out with Snow-by from the kitchen a moment later and plopped him next to Kiwi and told us Finn was down the hall in a bedroom.”

Glimmer said, “I didn’t even get a chance to tell anyone it was safe before Izzy was running down the hall but I feel sorry for anyone who would have got in her way to be honest.” 

Adora nodded as she said, “That’s why I followed her.” 

Adora didn’t specify whether it was to protect Izzy or anyone she might run across. Glimmer gestured at Artho and Oak and said, “I got you two and well, I think you know the rest.” 

They were quiet for a little while before Izzy finally said, “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do something sooner or figure it out before it all went bad.”

“No,” Finn said. “It’s not your fault. I could have backed out at any time. I felt weird the moment we got there. I should have known better.”

Artho nodded and said, “Same honestly. I should have said something.”

Oak said, “Hey, I didn’t really notice at all but maybe let's not play the game of who’s to blame. We got through it. That’s all that matters.” 

Adora said, “She’s right. You all did what you could and you all did fine. Don’t blame yourselves.”

Finn gave a chuckle as they said, “You know, I just can’t believe Izzy saw you as She-Ra and I still haven’t.”

Adora looked at Finn. 

“What do you mean? You’ve seen me as She-Ra before.” 

Finn shook their head as they said, “No I haven’t, Mom.” 

“Wait, I think you said that the night before you left but surely you have,” Adora said before stopping to think. “There was that time… wait, no, you weren’t there. There was that one survey… wait, I didn’t bring you on that one.” 

Adora shook her head finally before saying, “I guess you haven’t. Do you want me to transform for you?” 

Finn laughed as they said, “No, Mom. It’s fine. I was just making an observation. I'm perfectly happy with you."

Catra nudged Adora with her foot as she said, "She really is the best of the two."

“And I remember you saying that when we were first together,” Adora said as she squeezed Catra’s hand. 

Catra shook her head and said, “Not quite. I said that the world could have She-Ra, they can have the hero, and that it was their loss because I had you.”

Her and Adora looked into each other’s eyes and for a moment there was nothing else in the world before they broke eye contact with shy grins. 

Artho said, “I see where you get it from, Finn.” 

Adora cleared her throat as she said, “We haven’t asked but I’d feel better if you let us stay tonight. Is that alright?” 

Finn looked around for any arguments but didn’t see any. 

“It is your tent,” Finn said with a smile. “We’ll draw straws between the four of us to see which gets a cot and the rest will take the ground.” 

“Now hold on,” Glimmer said. “What makes you think we’re going to get the cots? I’m not pushing you all out of your own beds.” 

“It’s easy,” Artho said, sitting back a little. “You’re all old and I wouldn’t make an old person sleep on the cold hard ground. Mom and Mom would be very disappointed in me.” 

“I’ll have you know I’ve spent many nights on the ground with no tent and no sleeping bag before,” Glimmer said.

“And how many nights has it been since you’ve done that?” Artho said with a grin. 

“That’s not the point,” Glimmer said. 

Adora snorted as she said, “It’s probably more of the point then you know. Take it from someone who’s your age and still spends a lot of time in a tent. Take the cot. I know I’m not going to be shy about it.” 

“Neither am I,” Catra said. 

“I’ll tell you what, Aunt Glimmer” Artho said. “We’ll include you in the straw draw. That way it’s fair.” 

Glimmer agreed without an argument and Artho went off to grab a few twigs. She came back a few minutes later and held out the handful to Oak who took them before turning her back to everyone before arranging them in her hand.

“Shortest two straws gets the cot. Glimmer, eldest goes first,” Artho said. 

Glimmer grumbled but reached back and forth before pulling out a twig from Oak’s hand. Oak nodded at Artho who then drew one and then rest drew as well. When it was done Glimmer had the shortest twig of the five who’d drawn, along with Artho. Glimmer looked at it, then back at Oak. 

“What is it, Aunt Glimmer?” Oak said with an innocent look on her face. 

“I can’t help but feel like this wasn’t a fair draw somehow,” Glimmer said. 

“How would that be?” Oak said. “And wait, why don’t you just jump and get a few more cots?” 

Finn couldn’t help but notice Oak reach behind her as if to scratch at her back and drop a few pieces of twig from her hand. Finn looked away with a grin and Glimmer said, “Because I’m exhausted and I’m not sure but it occurs to me that you’ve all known Netossa for pretty much your whole lives and I should probably ask her about this.” 

“Well, you’ll have to ask her another time, Aunt Glimmer,” Finn said. “Data pad is shot and you’re too tired to jump around, remember? Ask in the morning… after you’ve had a nice night’s sleep on the cot.”

“Besides, even if she did hustle you it’s not like she did it for anything other than helping you out,” Catra said with a grin. 

“Why does everyone always say hustle!?” Oak said. “This is like Serac all over again, I swear.” 

Oak suddenly realized what she’d said and shut her mouth, hoping that it’d go over everyone’s head. Adora though turned to her and said, “Wait, Serac was the first town you all travelled to. How is you being accused of hustling like Serac all over?” 

“Nothing, Aunt Adora,” Oak said with a smile. “It isn’t. At all. I misspoke.” 

“I doubt it,” Adora said with a knowing smile right back. “But I’m not going to try and push it out of you. So what’s the plan going forward?” 

Izzy dug out her notebook and flipped to the schedule. 

“We were going to fly out and back to Bright Moon after we had what we came for or had determined it was a dead end,” she said. “We know we need to go to either Seaworthy or the Enchanted Grotto and find this Orca person. There has been some talk that we not go right after though and we still go to Bright Moon and I say we stick to that. What does The Team say?” 

“I’m still ready for a break,” Artho said. 

“Same,” Oak said. “It’ll be good to just take a break.”

Finn said, “I’m not against it at all.”

“Then we’re in agreement,” Izzy said as she wrote a few things down. “Artho, Oak, you two find a route for us please and we can leave tomorrow.”

There were nods and then after a little more chatting everyone settled in for the evening. It was late into the night when Artho, who couldn’t sleep, heard Izzy get off the ground, pull on her boots and quietly go outside. Artho waited a few minutes and when she didn’t come back, followed her. 

Izzy stood a little ways from the tent in the grass staring at the sky. A few streamers of aurora drifted across the sky and as Artho watched, a shooting star slowly went across the sky, leaving a long and brilliant trail as she quietly walked over to Izzy. 

“Izzy?” Artho said quietly.

Izzy didn’t look down but Artho could see she was shaking a little. 

“You alright?” Artho said. 

Izzy shook her head and finally said, “I keep replaying today in my head. I can’t get it to stop.” 

“Honestly, it’s the same for me as well,” Artho said as she squatted down in the tall grass next to Izzy. “Maybe less replay and more just flashes of what happened.” 

“I know I should try and reframe it, take some deep breaths,  _ something _ , but I can’t get it to stop,” Izzy said. “What if Finn hadn’t got off a signal? What then?” 

“Izzy, you got out though,” Artho said. “You would have saved us. Hell, you did save us. You had help but you saved us.” 

Izzy looked at Artho. 

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did and if you argue with me, I’ll happily go wake up the whole tent to tell you otherwise,” Artho said. 

“How though?” Izzy said. 

“You got out, you stayed out, I’m sure you had a plan for what to do right?” Artho said. 

Izzy slowly nodded. 

“It was really thin on details though,” she said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Artho said. “You had a plan. Then you saw Glimmer and the rest arrive so you went to them and helped them. You. Saved. Us. Pure and simple. I’ll tell you, I heard that door shatter and when I heard you screaming I knew right then and there it was going to be ok. Thank you for that.” 

Izzy shook her head as she said, “I don’t agree but… you’re welcome.” 

Artho stood up and stretched before saying, “Let’s get some sleep. Or at least act like we did so the others don’t know.” 

Izzy nodded and before they went back inside, she gave Artho a hug. 

“Thank you,” Izzy whispered.

“No need to say that,” Artho said. “The Team, remember?” 

“The Team,” Izzy said with a small smile before they went in and lay down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day!? Yes!


	24. Yet all experience is an arch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a rough time lately so for The Team it's time to return to their homes for a little down time and a breather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The next few days were spent in travel. They broke camp, returned the empty sauerkraut jar to Rust and thanked her again, and then were off and flying. Glimmer returned home, with promises to send out a message to everyone to let them know the group was alright, but Adora and Catra had decided to fly on with them. It had been mostly Catra who had made the decision for her and Adora.

“I’ve managed to avoid teleporting for years and suddenly I’ve done it multiple times in a week. I’m flying,” she’d said. 

It took several days to get back to Bright Moon and early one afternoon they’d finally sat down in the backyard and everyone slowly climbed off, tired after the journey. They’d unloaded the skiff and said their goodbyes in the backyard to Artho and Oak. 

“Let’s give it a couple of weeks,” Finn had said while they hugged them both tight. “We’ll call you soon and work out the details.” 

“Deal. It’ll take at least that long to assure Mom and Mom that we’re alright after Oak over-hypes our adventure,” Artho said with a rueful laugh. 

“I’ll do no such thing. I’ll tell it exactly as happened,” Oak said. “I might even downplay some of it.” 

“That might be for the best,” Catra said with a grin from where she was sprawled out on a lawn chair as Adora went into the house.

There was a last round of hugs and then Artho and Oak were in the air and flying away while Izzy and Finn stacked up the gear that would stay outside until they left again and got it covered up with a tarp. Then they were walking inside with their bags and stopped in the kitchen. 

“You alright there, kiddos?” Catra said as she followed them and saw them both stop. 

Finn turned and gave a smile and said, “I was homesick a few times. Now that I’m here, I’m just taking it all in.” 

Izzy nodded and said, “I know what you mean. I mean, this isn’t even my home but I missed it.” 

Adora came out of the hallway and threw an arm around Izzy as she said, “You’re more than welcome to think of this as home just like you do Grandma’s place.”

Izzy leaned a head against Adora’s arm for a moment and said, “Thank you. On that, I’m actually going to go home. I really miss her.” 

Adora gave her a squeeze and Finn sat their bag in the living room and said, “Don’t touch it. I’ll get it when I get back.” 

“I won’t hold my breath but I’ll leave it be,” Catra said. 

Finn and Izzy were soon walking down the road in the early afternoon light. Finn thought about making this walk with Izzy weeks before and how much different it all looked now. The trees had changed colors or shed their leaves and the light itself was different. They were soon at the halfway mark between their houses and Izzy stopped Finn there.

“Alright, I’ll see you in a few days,” she said as she gathered Finn close to her and rested her forehead against their forehead as she ran her hand over Finn’s head, tickling behind their ear for a moment. 

“Going to be weird sleeping in my own room,” Finn said. 

“Think you can handle it?” Izzy said with a little smile.

“I will,” Finn said. “Tough adventurer, remember?” 

Izzy nodded and they stood by the halfway point for several long minutes looking at each other before finally giving a final kiss farewell. Finn watched her walk away as Izzy looked back over her shoulder a few times before she went around a corner. Finn stood there a few minutes longer and then slowly walked back to the house. When they got back, they picked up the bag off the floor, trudged through the house and then came to their bedroom. On the bed, Mx. Whale looked back at them from where they’d left them. Finn settled down on the bed and picked up Mx. Whale and hugged them close. 

“I missed you. Thank you for watching over my moms. Were they alright?” Finn said quietly before listening for a few moments. 

“Ok, that’s good. Thank you and yes, I’ll be back for a while,” Finn said before stretching out on the bed and falling fast asleep.

In the meantime, Izzy was standing outside the door to her house. She felt strangely like she should knock before she went inside. She shook the feeling away and opened the door. 

“Grandma?” Izzy called out as she stepped inside and set her bag down. 

At first Izzy didn’t hear anything and started trying to think of what day it was and maybe she was out for the afternoon. Then from the back of the house, she heard, “Izzy!” 

Then she saw her come hurrying out of the back of the house with her arms spread wide. 

“You’re home!” Grandma said as she pulled Izzy in for a hug that lifted Izzy off the ground for a moment.

“I am home,” Izzy said with a little smile. “Did Glimmer not tell you we were coming home?” 

“She did but she didn’t give an exact time,” Grandma said. “It’s weird to hear you refer to the Queen that way.” 

Izzy hugged Grandma as she said, “I earned it.” 

“Oh, I’m not going to correct you,” Grandma said. “I’m just making an observation. Come on to the kitchen! Have you eaten?” 

“Not since this morning,” Izzy said as she followed her to the kitchen table and sat down. 

Grandma made a little disappointed noise and said, “I’m going to have a word with Mx. Finn about that then. Starving my grandchild.” 

Izzy laughed with a full smile as she said, “Grandma, they didn’t starve me. We literally just got off the skiff in the last hour or so. I came straight here as soon as we’d unloaded.” 

Grandma, who was about to say that she had been kidding, suddenly stopped putting a few little things on a plate and stared at Izzy. Izzy, watching her, suddenly got a bit shy. 

“What?” Izzy said as she reached up to tuck back hair that she didn’t have behind her ear. 

“You… you changed a bit while you were gone,” Grandma said as she set the plate in front of Izzy and sat down at the table. 

“I guess, a bit,” Izzy said. 

“I like it,” Grandma said. “Not that I didn’t like you before!” 

“I know what you mean, Grandma,” Izzy said with a little smile as she took a bite. 

“Tell me everything that happened,” Grandma said. “Before you do though, I do have to say that you have a letter from Emma. I sat it in your room.” 

Izzy paused for a moment as she ate and then said, “That can wait. What do you want to hear first?” 

Grandma said, “Everything.” 

Izzy gave a little grin as she said, “Well, the first night out we stayed in a town called Serac. For Finn and I, it was fine. For Artho and Oak, those two had a bit more of an exciting time.” 

Izzy went on to tell her all about the trip, the scary parts, the fun parts, and the sad parts. She was talking about Hordak’s Remembrance when Grandma said, “Queen Glimmer asked if I wanted to go so I could see you. I hope you’re not mad that I said no. I didn’t know the man and I think I would have felt awkward there.” 

“It’s alright,” Izzy said. “I did feel a bit odd there because I certainly never met him. It was beautiful though and I’m glad I was there to help the others out. And I met Entrapta!” 

“I’ve heard about her,” Grandma said. “What was she like?” 

Izzy's little smile snuck across her face again as she said, “Pretty interesting to be honest. We talked about science stuff for half the night and at one point she even offered Dryl to me.” 

Grandma blinked a few times and said, “I’m sorry. Did you say she offered  _ Dryl _ to you?” 

Izzy nodded as she saw the look on Grandma’s face and said, “You look like Finn did when they heard her say it. She offered it to me since she was abdicating.” 

Grandma sat back in her chair and said, “Is that what the story has been leading up to? Do I call you Princess Izzy now?” 

“I turned her down, Grandma,” Izzy said. “She’d taken the time to set up a bunch of riddles and such for someone to solve. If they do, they get to be the next Princess. I told her that if I decided I wanted that, I’d solve those first.” 

Grandma was shaking her head with a smile as she said, “Well, I have to say that I wouldn't have had your restraint but then again, you’re not me.” 

“Between you and I, I may take a shot at it after all this is over,” Izzy said. “For the puzzles if nothing else.”

Grandma laughed and said, “There’s the Izzy I know and love.”

Izzy gave a little smile and said, “Thanks, Grandma. I doubt anything will come of it. We are talking about puzzles set by one of the most brilliant minds in the universe after all.” 

Grandma reached over and squeezed Izzy’s shoulder as she said, “Don’t sell yourself short.”

Izzy nodded and then went on with the rest of the story. When she got to Dava and the fight she paused for a moment and said, “This just happened a few days ago. What did Glimmer tell you?” 

“That there had been a confrontation and that you were all alright,” Grandma said. “She didn’t go into detail.” 

Izzy nodded and pushed the little bit of food left on her plate around before pushing the plate away as she said, “It… it was ugly. Thank Mara, Finn had a way to call in help or I’m not sure what would have happened.”

Grandma scooted in a little closer and took Izzy’s hand. 

“You’re here,” she said. “You obviously did alright.” 

Izzy shrugged and said, “I guess. It was hard. I’ll tell you another time alright? I’ll just say it was a fight that we managed to get through.”

Grandma said, “Good. Is that why there’s scorch marks on your satchel?” 

Izzy looked down at the satchel she’d hung off the chair when she’d sat down and said, “Yes.”

“A fight that featured a Horde stun baton it looks like,“ Grandma said as she picked up Izzy’s plate and took it to the sink.

Izzy looked at her oddly as she nodded slowly and said, “Yes. Uh… how did you know that?” 

Grandma grimaced at her and said, “I lived through the war, Izzy. I’ve seen those things at work before. Ugly things.”

Izzy shuddered as she remembered the noise they made. 

“Yes, they are,” she replied.

She stood up and said, “I’m going to go put my stuff away for now. Isn’t tonight your and June’s card night?” 

Grandma smiled and said, “Yes, it is. You’re invited as always.” 

Izzy stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room for a moment and then surprised Grandma by looking at her and saying, “Yes, I think I will if you don’t mind.” 

Grandma smiled. Normally Izzy would hem and haw and then not show up most of the time but to see her firmly accept brought joy to her. 

Izzy walked through the house, picking up her luggage on the way, and was soon settling down at her desk with her bags unzipped and began to slowly unpack. She kept glancing at the envelope on the desktop with her name and address written clearly on it in Emma’s handwriting. Around the room were several different models of the various castles in Etheria and Izzy finally stood up and started looking at them, comparing what she remembered seeing from what she’d created on some of them. She looked at Dryl for a few moments and briefly sat her hand on the beacon before shaking her head and walking over to her desk to pick up the letter. 

Elsewhere, over the Heart Blossom, Artho looked down at the assembly of tents in the field as she looked for a place to set down. Oak hung on as she leaned over the edge and looked at the riot of colors of the tents along with the people coming out to see who was circling the field. 

“I think I see a spot near our tent,” Artho said. “It’s near the greenbriar patch though.” 

Oak grinned as she said, “I’ll deal with that perfidious plant if it means we can finally land and be home.” 

Artho brought them in fast as she laughed and said, “Done.”

Moments after they’d landed and shut the engines down, their siblings came tumbling over the side of the skiff.

“Boarders!” Oak said in mock surprise as she hugged the various children running around and saying hello. She felt a flower crown settle on her head and saw that Artho had the same. 

“Hello, Mom! And Mom!” Artho shouted and waved as the two did their best to get their stuff. 

Scorpia and Perfuma leaned against each other as they watched them climb down, each of them with a child on their backs. They walked over to them and gathered them both up into a large hug.

“We’re so glad you’re back,” Perfuma whispered to them. 

“We’re glad to be back, Mom,” Oak said as she took in the smell of incense that came off of both of her moms. 

“Glimmer called and said there was trouble. Are you alright?” Scorpia said. 

“We’re fine, Mom,” Oak said. “It was scary but we got through it.” 

Perfuma frowned as she said, “What healing do you need? Is there anything you need to talk out?” 

Artho shook her head and said, “Not right now, but if I can talk to you two in private for a few minutes? I know we just got home and I want to see everyone but… just for a few?” 

Oak looked at Artho in puzzlement and Artho looked at her and simply said, “What we talked about the other night.” 

Oak nodded and said, “Can do. Alright! Artho needs a moment with Mom and Mom! Everyone into the tent and I’ll tell you all about what’s happened along the way!” 

The kids followed after Oak, chattering and laughing, leaving Scorpia and Perfuma alone with Artho in the early evening light. Artho leaned up against the skiff, took the flower crown off and began to fiddle with it. 

“What’s wrong, Doodle Bug?” Scorpia said. 

“Nothing, Mom, I’m just not sure how to say this. We were talking one night and we got onto the subject of what we want to do going forward after we’re through with all of this and well, I think I know what I want to do but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or not,” Artho said. She stood there for a moment, her tail shivering a little as she looked down and said, “Mom, Mom, I want to be a Listener.” 

Perfuma stepped forward and lifted Artho’s chin up a little so she could look into her eyes. 

“You will be an excellent Listener,” she said to her.

Artho looked a bit surprised and said, “Are you sure? But… I’m kind of a…”

Scorpia smiled and said, “Hey, you’re what you are but I agree. You’re going to make a great Listener.” 

“Even though I’m kind of blunt sometimes?” Artho said.

Perfuma laughed and said, “Honey, sometimes you HAVE to be. It’s actually something we have a hard time training. I mean, you do have to cushion it a little, you can’t just blast someone, but it’s easier to teach that then the other way around. What brought you to this junction?” 

Artho shrugged as she placed the flower crown back on her head as she said, “On this trip, I found myself giving advice every once in a while and helping out and there was one moment where I was kind of stupid but it worked out and I don’t know, it’s just there and it just feels right. I want to do it. Izzy even loaned me a book to start reading.” 

“Really? Which one?” Perfuma said. 

Artho carefully pulled it out of her bag and handed it over to her. 

“She said it was the text most Listeners start with,” Artho said. 

Perfuma flipped through it, taking note of the highlighting and notes written in it, and said, “She’s right. There’s other texts you can start with but most of our groups start with this one for new Listeners. Have you read any of it yet?” 

Artho said, “A little but I haven’t really had a chance.” 

Scorpia looked over Perfuma’s shoulder as she flipped through the book and said, “Is Izzy planning on being a Listener?” 

“Not that I’m aware. She just likes to read,” Artho said.

Perfuma handed the book back as Scorpia said, “There’s reading and then there’s that level of reading.” 

“I’m not expecting you to coddle me along but will you help me get started, Mom?” Artho said. 

“Of course,” Perfuma said. “You let me know when and I’ll get you in a group. They’ll get you rolling from there. You’ll probably do a couple of years of both reading and working alongside a full-fledged Listener with the group. It’s intense and you’ll be expected to go through the same things you’ll do with the people you help. Then they’ll hand you over to another group who’ll quiz you to see what you know. It takes a few weeks. If you can pass through all of that, you’ll get to be a Listener and pick a group to be with. It’s considered polite to do a few years more with your original group but it’s not unheard of to go to another group especially if there’s a need for a new Listener somewhere.” 

“I can handle that,” Artho said. “Well, I think.” 

“Of course you can, Doodle Bug,” Perfuma said, pulling her in for a hug. 

Oak stuck her head out of the tent and shouted, “Hey, we’re getting dinner ready. Get in here and eat!” 

“We’re having a moment!” Scorpia shouted back good naturedly. 

“We can talk about this more later but thank you,” Artho said. 

“Are you going to tell us about what happened that Glimmer had to go and help you out?” Scorpia said. 

Artho shuddered a little and said, “After the little ones go to bed. It’s kind of scary. They don’t need to hear it.” 

“This from the person who told little Scuttle that there’s a monster in the Fright Zone sewers and that’s why you and your sister were down there? Who, I might add, didn’t have to wake up with her three nights straight to go to the toilet with her because she was scared to do it on her own?” Scorpia said teasingly. 

Artho rolled her eyes and said, “Well, what can I say? I’ve changed over these weeks.” 

“You’re evolving and I’m proud to witness it,” Perfuma said as they walked towards the tent together. 

Inside was the friendly chaos of dinner time with their family. They all ate at a low table, sitting on the ground, while everyone chatted with each other. Oak, telling stories about the trip, accidentally let the first night at Serac slip again. 

Scorpia stopped with a spoon halfway to her mouth as she caught the reference and said, “I’m sorry, did you just say something about getting confused for hustlers?” 

“Ummm… no?” Oak said nervously. 

Artho rolled her eyes and said, “Yes, she did. Come on, just tell the story, you keep letting it slip anyway. Besides, it was your crowning moment I swear.” 

Perfuma, playing with the youngest child, said, “Yes, please do tell. I’d like to hear it.” 

Oak told the story, and stuck pretty close to what actually happened to Artho’s surprise, and then stopped to see what Perfuma and Scorpia would say. 

“That was certainly interesting,” Perfuma said. 

“Are you kidding!? That was great!” Scorpia said, her eyes shining. “You defeated four dice hustlers and made the town safe!? That’s amazing!” 

Perfuma grinned and shook her head but didn’t say anything else about it. 

The following week flew by for everyone. Finn got a new data pad to replace the old one and surprised their moms by being up bright and early every morning. One morning Catra walked into the kitchen, yawning and stretching, to find Finn already up and making breakfast. 

“Is this a habit now?” she said as she sat down at the counter as Finn poured her a cup of hot water for her tea. 

“I don’t know. I just can’t sleep late ever since I got back,” Finn said. 

“At least I don’t have to worry about breakfast,” Catra said as she loaded up a tea ball and dropped it into her cup. 

“Think Mom will be up for breakfast this morning?” Finn said. 

“Doubtful. She was up late last night working on a project,” Catra yawned. 

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to be the only one sleeping in,” Adora said as she came around the corner in a robe, rubbing at her chest.

“Scar giving you problems this morning?” Catra said. 

“Not really. Just feels a little sore is all,” Adora said as she sat down at the counter beside Catra. “Finn, how are you up so early? Weren’t you out late with Izzy last night?” 

Finn set down the plates in front of the two and said, “I was but I still woke up at what I guess is my regular time. Which is good. I needed to talk to you two.” 

“I’m all ears,” Catra said, flicking her ears at Finn. 

Finn rolled their eyes at the old joke and said, “We talked with Artho and Oak and we all agreed we’re going to try and leave again in about ten days. We could leave sooner but everyone agreed we needed the break.”

Adora yawned and said, “Alright. What do you need?” 

Catra just sipped at her tea while Finn looked back and forth between the two. 

“That’s it? I was expecting more… well, more… push back I guess?” Finn said. 

Catra grinned and said, “Kiddo, we’ve been back and forth on this already. We’ve made our peace.” 

Finn nodded and said, “I’m happy because I’m not sure how this is going to go off going forward. I mean, I have to find and convince a smuggler captain, one that’s apparently got a notorious reputation, and convince her that it’s in her interest to help me. I’m worried to be honest.” 

“What’s your plan?” Adora said. 

“Well, we all agreed there is no way we’re going into the Enchanted Grotto so that means we go to Seaworthy and try to find her there,” Finn said. “Cowrie has agreed to come along with us and her crew will be backing us up so we don’t have any worries there but really, how is this going to work?” 

Adora nodded and said, “It might not. Although it sounds like you’ve got quite the group put together but what are you expecting? What do you think you can’t handle?”

Finn touched the emergency beacon around their neck. Adora noticed and said, “Wait, are you getting up so early because you can’t sleep?” 

Finn shook their head as they said, “The first few nights after, yes. I’m doing better though. We all are. It’s one of the first things we check when we talk.” 

Catra said, “Do you think your reluctance about this is around that moment?” 

Finn said, “Of course I think it’s that. Why do you think I’m planning on taking Cowrie and her entire crew in with us?” 

Adora drummed her fingers against the countertop for a moment before saying, “Let me make this suggestion. Don’t bring them in with you. You’re an actor, Finn. Go in with a false identity, play the role. That doesn’t mean you’re not covered though. Have a way to contact one or two of your group that you leave outside with a way to signal Cowrie and crew if needed.” 

Catra said, “That’s a good idea. Also, I would 100% not leave Izzy outside. Bring her in with you.” 

“What do you mean?” Finn said. 

“Finn, you didn’t see her coming in right behind your Mother,” Adora said. “She was scared out of her mind but by Mara she was going in there to save you no matter what stood in her way. You want that by your side.” 

Catra nodded as Finn said, “She did kind of say something along those lines when we were planning it out.” 

“I’d think that’s your basic plan,” Adora said. “You two go in, pretend you’re someone else, and see what you can find out.” 

Finn nodded slowly before saying, “I’ll put it to The Team and see what they think.”

“So did you two go to the theater group last night?” Catra said, feeling like a change of subject was in order. 

“We did. I felt kind of bad that we’d been gone for so long but everyone was really happy to see us,” Finn said. “And honestly, they’re doing really good. They’ve got a play going up in a few weeks. I think it’ll be the first time I haven’t been involved in one beyond the stuff we talked about last night. I hope I get to see it” 

“Sounds like you helped build a solid group,” Catra said. “Be proud they can operate without you being there for every little thing.” 

Finn nodded and said, “I’m happy honestly. I never wanted it to be an ego project revolving around me and we tried hard to make sure it wasn’t ever just about one person so I’d say…”

They were cut off by a knock on the front door. All three turned to look at it and then looked at each other.

“Were you expecting someone?” Adora said to the other two who were shaking their heads. 

“It’s not even daylight yet,” Finn said as they started walking towards the door. 

“Wait…,” Catra said, moving past Finn, feeling uneasy. She looked out through the little peephole on the door then suddenly laughed and opened the door. 

Izzy stood on the other side, a large knit cap pulled over her horns and head with a sweater down to her knees, as she held up a notebook and stepped inside. 

“Izzy? What… are you alright?” Finn said.

“Finn! The farmer! We forgot the farmer!” Izzy said as she handed over the notebook, pointing excitedly at something on the page.

Finn took the notebook and leaned against the couch as they looked over it. They looked up with a look of surprise on their face as Catra leaned against the door while Adora sipped at some instant coffee she’d made. 

“This… this is so much easier!” Finn said.

“What are you two talking about if you don’t mind?” Adora said with a yawn. 

“The farmer that you all talked with who used to be part of Orca’s crew!” Izzy said, her eyes bright. “We don’t have to track down Orca immediately. We may not even have to track her down at all. We can just go visit this farmer instead!”

Finn grinned and said, “I much prefer having to talk with a farmer over having to figure out how we’re going to get a known smuggler to talk with us.”

Adora said, “Izzy, have you slept at all?” 

Izzy said, “Yes. Well, a little. I took a nap. For a few minutes.” 

“Alright, well come over here and sit down and eat something at least,” Adora said, gesturing at the counter, having a brief memory of the war and everyone running on way too little sleep as she did.

Izzy went over and Finn slid their plate to her as she leaned against the counter and started eating. 

“You know, the Fright Zone is pretty close. We can probably do this in a day and if not, we can stay overnight there,” Finn said. “We can get Artho and Oak to pick us up. We won’t even have to load up a ton of gear like we did last time.”

Izzy nodded and, around a mouthful of toast, said, “We should go up to the Archive today and find the details.”

“You know we actually know where it is, right?” Catra said. 

“Yes but I wanted an excuse to go into the Archives again,” Izzy said with a little smile. 

“I have to go up to Bright Moon today,” Adora said. “Do you care if I tag along for the walk?” 

Izzy nodded her head to keep from talking around the toast in her mouth again and Finn squeezed her hand as Adora said, “Then let’s get moving. And both of you, you probably want to consider a nap sometime today.”

“Yes, Mom,” Finn said with a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The farmer! We forgot the farmer!” said the author through Izzy's mouth. Seriously, I did but I was thinking about how nervous they'd be to have to face Orca and then that little piece of lore from a previous story came crashing through my head. 
> 
> As always, I hope you're enjoying yourself!


	25. Something more, A bringer of new things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for relaxing, a little preparation, and introspection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The lead up to their second trip was much more subdued than the first time. No hurrying around check marking every little detail, no obsessive checking of multiple lists; instead they had it well in hand, checked what they had to check and then let it rest. Finn and Izzy spent time at both of their houses and the night before they left Finn joined in on card night with Izzy and her Grandma and June. 

“Finn, I have to say that it’s good to see the two of you together,” June said as Finn helped Grandma clear the table. “You’ve really made Izzy happy.”

“Thank you,” Finn said, trying not to blush. “She makes me really happy as well.” 

“You know, I’ve actually seen you at your theater multiple times,” June said. “You all put on good work.”

Finn grinned as they said, “What was your favorite?”

June thought for a moment and said, “I particularly liked  _ The Clone _ you put on at the beginning of the year.” 

Izzy looked up from the book she’d been reading and said, “That was the super minimalist one about the clone questioning reality wasn’t it?” 

“The same,” Finn said to Izzy before turning back to June as they sat down. “That was not an easy one to put on. We usually prefer plays with more humor, or at least melodramatics in them. Deep dive meditations on the nature of reality, free will, and personal responsibility are a bit off our usual fare but our head costume person Mel brought that one up and we went for it. We enjoyed it.” 

“You should do more like that,” June said. “I walked out really thinking. I loved it.” 

“Izzy and I are both on, well, I guess you’d call it leave until we’re done with my whole thing but I’ll pass it on,” Finn said with a smile. 

“Speaking of which, I believe you all are leaving tomorrow?” Grandma said as she sat down at the table.

Izzy looked up in thought as she said, “Yeah, that is tomorrow isn’t it?” 

Finn laughed and said, “Izzy, you’re our organizer. How are you not on top of that?” 

Izzy gave a little smile as she started reading again and said, “I am but it’s just not something I’m giving much thought to right now. I’ve been catching up on my reading since I’ve been back after all.”

Finn looked at her, blinking slowly as they smiled, and said, “You know, we’re not packing as much this time. We can haul more books if you want.” 

Izzy shook her head, not looking up from her book, as she said, “It actually helped for me to take the break I think.”

“Izzy, you were still reading while we were out,” Finn said.

“Yes, but not three or four books at once,” Izzy said. 

“You’ve been reading that much!?” Grandma said. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with me as well. Are you sleeping?” 

Izzy didn’t look up from her book as she said, “Of course I’m sleeping.” 

“As much as you should?” Grandma said in a low tone looking straight at Izzy. 

“Usually,” Izzy replied, looking a bit chagrined as she looked up. 

There was a moment of silence as Grandma looked at Izzy and then gave a little grimace followed by a smile as she said, “You’re old enough to make those decisions on your own. Just please try and sleep more. It’s not healthy.” 

“Yes, Grandma,” Izzy said as she shut her book and put it away in her satchel. “Cards?” 

“Of course!” June said as she pulled the well-worn deck out from her pocket and gave them a quick bridge shuffle before setting them on the table. 

June and Grandma were excellent card players and as Finn had found out on the beach a while back, so was Izzy. Finn wasn’t bad but didn’t feel like they were of the same caliber. After a little while they’d laughed, after losing yet another hand and said, “I really need to get you two together with my Aunt Tossa. She’s fantastic at games and I think you two could really give her a challenge.” 

Grandma shook her head and said, “Still not quite used to you tossing around princesses' names like that.” 

June nudged Grandma as she picked up the deck and said, “Nicoletta, you put too much stock in all of that. No offense to your family, Finn.” 

Finn grinned as they said, “None take. I know them all well so I agree with you.” 

Grandma smiled as she said, “I’ll get used to it. Eventually.” 

“One day I’ll have to tell you the story of when I first met Glimmer,” Finn said as they picked up their cards. 

After the game, Finn and Izzy were walking along the road in the moonlight. 

“Artho and Oak should be in about mid-morning?” Finn said. 

“That’s the plan,” Izzy said, a little distracted. 

Finn looked at her as they approached the halfway point between the houses and stopped. 

“Izzy, you alright? Do we need to put off leaving?” Finn said. 

Izzy stopped and looked at Finn.

“No, of course not. I’m ready to get the next bit of this started. I was just thinking of something else.” 

“Do you want to tell me?” Finn said, feeling a little nervous. 

“Not right now,” Izzy said. “I promise, it’s not something bad, I’m just not ready to talk with you about it yet.”

Finn took a deep breath as they said, “OK. You know…”

Izzy gave Finn a quick kiss and said, “Yes, I know I can talk with you.”

She had a grin on her face as she stepped back and gave a quick twirl in the middle of the road as Finn laughed and said, “You sure seem happy so I guess I’ll not worry about it.” 

“You know that letter I got from Emma the first day I was back?” Izzy said as they walked onward. 

“Of course,” Finn said. “You were surprised that she actually wanted you to tell her the things you were mad about so she’d be able to think about them.” 

Izzy was looking down at the shadows cast across the road by the trees as she came to a stop at the halfway point and said, “It still feels like a trick but I took her at her word. I sent that letter out. It wasn’t everything I was mad about but it was some of the biggies.” 

“Is that why you’re so happy? Feel better for having said it?” Finn said. 

Izzy gave a little grin as she said, “That has nothing to do with it Mx. Finn and I’ll ask that you not pry again.” 

Finn laughed and said, “Sorry, go on.” 

“I got her response yesterday,” Izzy said, a serious look crossing her face as she leaned against a large stone on the side of the road. “It was… I don’t know. She addressed them. Not great but it felt honest and she talked a lot about her own issues that caused her to be the way she is as well. Finn, it felt different from her usual excuses. Like, I felt like she was actually trying to process what she did because she also went out of her way, several times, to say she knew it wasn’t an excuse for what she did to me.”

“Are you going to write back before we leave?” Finn said. 

“No, I need to process this I think,” Izzy said. “Maybe, because it’s text, I’m giving it the wrong tone in my head when I read it. Like I’m being too kind and maybe I need to be more critical about it. I need to think about it. What do you think?” 

“Well, it is by letter so it’s not like she’s sitting waiting for an immediate response in minutes,” Finn said. “You’re both stepping carefully so there’s no reason to rush it. Besides, we’ll be back in just a few days at the most.”

Izzy stood back up off the rock as she said, “That’s true. Finn, if I haven’t said it lately…”

“I love you too,” Finn said as they leaned their forehead against hers. 

“I do love you,” Izzy said, looking into Finn’s eyes. “All the way to the end.” 

“And beyond,” Finn said, looking back into her eyes. 

Afterwards, lying in bed, Finn stared at the canvas over their bed with Mx. Whale tucked under their arm as they listened to the little comforting noises of the house at night. They thought about where they’d be in the next few days, out on the edge of the Fright Zone, hopefully talking to the farmer. Finn repeated his name in their head as they tried to sleep. They’d found the name, Dralar, in the archive when they’d looked it up and Finn wondered if this was almost the final step or just another step before many, many more. After another half hour of staring at the canvas, they tucked Mx. Whale in as they said, “At least you’re getting some sleep tonight,” and got up. 

They shut their door and turned on the lamp over their desk as they sat down. They had their luggage sitting next to the desk and they looked around inside their pack for a moment and pulled out the letters that had been left for them in the archive. Finn fanned them a little and without giving it too much thought, pulled out the letter from Glimmer. They slit it open and pulled it out. 

_ Dear Finn, _

_ As the queen, I’m supposed to know what to do. I’m supposed to be able to get things done and make things happen and I can’t help but feel a bit helpless for not having been able to do it in this case. I feel like a failure for not being able to get you reconnected in some way with your biological family. You probably know by now that I was separated from my dad and my mother for years so I think you probably understand that I think family is important. Bow and I have both tried to have a family of our own but it’s starting to look like we might just be aunt and uncles to others. I hope we were (or are, were feels so morbid) a great aunt and uncle for you. Adora and Catra have both said they’re going to continue to raise you and I have no doubt they’ll be a great immediate family to you and I hope that all of us give you a fantastic extended family. _

_ With my love, _

_ Aunt Glimmer _

Finn sat the letter down wondering what Glimmer meant by they had tried to have a family of their own. Finn had never really thought about why her and Bow had waited so long to have a child of their own, figuring it was just because they’d both been busy with the throne, but now they wondered. They’d intended to just read one letter but they picked up Bow’s letter and opened it up to see if maybe there was some answer there. 

_ Hello Finn, _

_ I’m writing this but I’m not sure what to say for you if you ever do see this. I thought about putting in some heartfelt wishes for you. I thought about giving you some tips if you’re here to search but you can see in the room itself that there’s nothing I can leave in this letter that we didn’t try and leave in the room for you instead. What do I put here?  _

_ I’ll put here that I remember the first time I saw you in Seaworthy, I was shocked at how little and scared you looked. I remember the first day we got you to Adora and Catra’s house and you hid the whole time. Two years later and you’ve changed so much. You’re still shy a lot, I still see that little child I saw in Seaworthy sometimes, but then you’re inquisitive and friendly and when you get comfortable, will talk and talk. It’s wonderful; I can’t wait to see you grow up and I’m glad I’ll get to be a part of that. I think you’re going to be amazing.  _

_ Proud to be your uncle, _

_ Bow _

Finn sat the letters back into their envelopes and then put them away. They weren’t sure what to think about what Glimmer seemed to have said. Finn did make a mental note to assure her and Bow that they were both a great aunt and uncle. 

“Why am I even wondering about this?” Finn said out loud. They sighed and shut off the light and quietly padded down the hallway to the kitchen, on the hunt for some of Catra’s cheesecake. A little while later, Finn was sitting on the floor of the kitchen, eating a slice off a napkin when they suddenly felt the hair raise on the back of their neck, as if someone was looking at them. 

“Mother, I know you’re standing in the hallway,” Finn said quietly. Then, to Finn’s surprise, Adora came out of the hallway and leaned against the counter. 

“Why is it, when I’m very quiet and stealthy, everyone always assumes it’s Catra? I mean, we both learned it from the same place after all,” Adora said. 

Finn gave a little smile in the darkness and said, “Sorry, Mom. Usually it is. She’s the stealthy one after all.”

Adora shook her head as she said, “I’m stealthy. Enough of that though. What are you doing up?” 

Finn realized that Adora could probably just make out their outline in the darkness of the kitchen and said, “Having some cheesecake.”

Adora snorted as she said, “You’re up in the, well, it’s not even the middle of the night. Middle of the late part of the night? That’s not right. Whatever. You’re up really late eating cheesecake?” 

Finn nodded before remembering she didn’t see as well in the dark as they did and said, “Yes.” 

“What’s wrong?” Adora said. 

“Nothing really,” Finn replied. “Just nerves I guess.”

Adora walked over to the fridge. As she looked inside she said, “Good, you didn’t get the last piece.” 

She grabbed a slice in her hand and shut the door before sitting down on the floor against the fridge to take a bite. 

“Thinking about this farmer?” Adora said. 

“The whole thing really,” Finn said as they finished up their slice and wadded up the napkin to take to the laundry. “And then I read Aunt Glimmer’s letter she left in the archive and that got me thinking about something in that and finally I just said, ‘Get some cheesecake, Finn. That’ll make it better.’” 

Adora gave a quiet laugh as she said, “I swear you think like me sometimes. I thought you’d read all the letters though?”

Finn said, “No. I’m slowly reading them. Tonight I decided to read her and Uncle Bow’s letters. Why did they have Capella so late?” 

Finn could see Adora in the shadows go very still for a moment before saying, “What was in that letter? No, don’t answer that. Those were supposed to be between you and the person writing it. As to your question, I’m not going to get very much into it because it is a private thing between her and Bow and you’ll have to ask them if you want the full story but yes, they had a hard time having a child. They’d pretty much given up trying by the time we were calling off the search. Capella was a huge, but welcome, surprise. That’s all I’m going to say.” 

Finn said, “I’m probably not going to ask them but thanks for letting me know that, Mom. If you ever want to read those letters, just let me know. I’ve got them all in my pack.” 

Adora took the last bite of her cheesecake and took a moment to lick the crumbs off her hand before she said, “Tempting but no, I’m not going to do that. When we were wrapping up it was Sea Hawk’s idea to write the letters and Perfuma’s idea that we didn’t share the contents with each other so we could be fully honest in the letters for you. I think we would have been anyway but we went with the idea.” 

“I can just see all of you sitting around that room writing,” Finn said. “Well, Entrapta typing but you get the idea.” 

Adora smiled sadly in the dark as she thought of Entrapta as she said, “I remember that. She actually built a portable printer just to print out that letter. We didn’t know why she didn’t just use pen and paper but that was so very much her.” 

“I miss her and I hardly ever saw her,” Finn said. 

Adora let out a long sigh as she said, “Me too. It’s one thing to know she’s gone for months and months at a time but that she’s coming back. It’s another to know she’s probably gone for good. Feels like dealing with two deaths to be honest.” 

Finn sat in the quiet of the room and dimly saw Adora fiddle with the tie of her robe before she went on and said, “I still feel odd about Hordak. Lived in fear of him for years of my life, trying to please him in the Horde, then I was fighting him and… well, I was fighting against the Horde, then Prime comes and then falls, I realized things about Hordak and I, he and Entrapta get together and slowly over the years he became a friend. 

“I remember the day we rescued Angella, he helped us with so much. He didn’t have to but he did. Bow told me later that he found out that Hordak had built in a hidden cut off switch for the gate but didn’t use it, even though it made sense to do so at one point apparently, and gave us thirty more seconds, even though there was a very real chance of the gate exploding and taking everyone with it. Those thirty seconds probably made the difference between us getting Angella out and her being trapped forever. I think that was when I really started to change my thinking on him. It wasn’t like, immediate, but it was a big step.”

Finn wasn’t sure what to say. The conversation felt different but Finn couldn’t pin down why and it was quiet for a minute before Finn spoke up. 

“You know, it reminds me of Izzy talking with Emma. I know it’s not the same thing, I’m not trying to make your journey any less, but I feel like it kind of is,” Finn said. “Like this big figure you were scared of and then got away from and then finally made amends with.”

Adora nodded her head as she said, “I can see what you’re getting at and you’re not making my journey less. At least you didn’t imitate Perfuma when you said that.” 

Finn saw her grin in the darkness as they said, “Well, I spent a lot of time with her. Speech patterns rub off on people you know.” 

“Don’t I know it,” Adora said with a little chuckle. “We spent a month on this planet back when we were doing our big road trip. All four of us picked up the accent they had, not to mention some of the language idioms.” 

“Like what?” Finn said.

“I can’t even remember now to be honest, I just remember it happening,” Adora replied. “Do you think I should talk to Izzy about what she’s going through?” 

Finn said, “Wow, nice subject change, Mom. And maybe? I don’t know how she’d feel about that.” 

Adora nodded and then said, “I’ll ask her, make it clear she can tell me no. Oh, and Catra? Just come in here and join us.” 

“How!?” she said as she came in and sat down against the counter so they all formed a little triangle looking at each other. 

“Because I heard the heater kick on, it’s down that hall, and it sounded just a bit more muffled than normal. You should have been lower to the ground so the sound goes over you instead of around you,” Adora said and then made a little tsk-tsk sound. “What would Cobalt say?” 

“Something grumpy, I imagine,” Catra said. 

“Who’s Cobalt?” Finn said. 

“One of our officers from the Horde,” Adora said. “Did some of the training for us.” 

“Stern but not a complete jerk,” Catra said. “Not like Octavia. Don’t even get me started on her.” 

Adora chuckled as she said, “Well, she did have a dumb face.” 

“She did!” Catra said.

Finn looked back and forth between the two in the dark and said, “Officer?” 

Adora nodded her head and said, “Officer. Not fond of either of us but then again, in hindsight, not without cause.” 

“Why?” Finn said. 

“When I was little, I scratched her. She held a grudge about it,” Catra said. 

“Scratched,” Adora said as she snorted. “She lost an eye.”

_“She_ _what!?”_ Finn said. 

“Hey, the young me had anger management issues. I admit it,” Catra said. “Besides, don’t let her take the high road. Your Mom there went and yelled at her that she had a dumb face right after.”

Finn was shaking their head as they said, “It’s like I don’t even know you two.” 

Adora laughed as she said, “I’m told that’s a common feeling for kids as they get older and get to know their parents.” 

“Is that what we’re doing here?” Finn said. Catra and Adora went quiet for a second. 

“It’s not like that’s what I set out for this to be,” Adora said. “I just came down the hall because I had woken up and thought I heard you. Then I set out for cheesecake. And I got it, then we just got to talking. Then your Mother showed she’s getting sloppy in her old age.” 

Cartra stuck her tongue out at Adora, making plenty of noise so Adora could hear it, and Finn hugged their knees as they said, “I like it. Feels like I’m unlocking secrets here and you all never really do talk much about your time in the Horde.” 

“Because it sucked, kiddo,” Catra said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, there were bright moments but they mostly revolved around your Mom. Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio helped too but yeah, it was pretty bad. Better to tell the funny war stories with all our friends at our parties, even though some of us were on different sides, then dwell on our childhoods.” 

“What was it like?” Finn said quietly and Adora sighed a little. 

“For me, it wasn’t as bad as Catra had it because I was seen as special. The person raising me, quote unquote, knew I had potential to be She-Ra. Well, not She-Ra in particular but she knew something was there. She still screwed with my head constantly though,” Adora said. 

“She’s downplaying what she went through,” Catra said. As Adora started to speak up she went on to say, “Yes, you are. You know we’ve talked about it with Perfuma. It was bad for both of us, Finn, we just suffered in different ways.” 

“Can you tell me something you remember that’s happy?” Finn said.

“That one ledge that’s in the mural back in our old room. That,” Adora said. 

Catra smiled in the gloom as she said, “Absolutely.” 

“We used to go there and spend hours by ourselves,” Adora said. “I remember when we went after the war and found it covered in greenery. It felt like it’d been reborn and us along with it. We spent the whole night up there that night.” 

Catra gave a little sigh of happiness as she said, “I know I loved staying up late whispering in the barracks. Just talking about what was going to be and what we had planned. Course, none of that played out the way we thought but it carried us through.” 

“I’m sorry you had to fight through all of that,” Finn said. 

“We’re sorry you had to go through what you did before you came to us,” Adora said. “But they’re both in the past and we all have each other now. We cope, we help each other, we move on.” 

Finn nodded and they all sat in silence for a few minutes, each thinking. Then Finn said, “Except, I’m not moving on am I? I just spent weeks out traveling digging into my past. I’m leaving tomorrow, well, later today at this point, to go do more of the same.” 

“That’s still moving on,” Catra said. “You have to examine and understand your past to your own satisfaction. Then you have to come to terms with it to be whole. Everyone does that in a different way and this is your way.”

Adora said, “Well put, honey.”

“It should be, it’s pretty close to what Perfuma said to me when I was complaining about talking about the past with her,” Catra said. 

“I never thought of myself as lucky but I’m glad about whatever luck I might have that brought you two to that bar in Seaworthy at just the right time,” Finn said. 

“Me too,” Adora said. 

Finn rested their head back against the cabinet behind them and said, “I’m going to try and get a few hours sleep in. I love you both.” 

“Love you,” Catra said. “It was good talking with you.” 

“Love you too,” Adora said. “This was good. And if you want, sleep in. We’ll get you up when Artho and Oak get in.” 

“Alright,” Finn said as they stood up. The others got up as well and they stepped forward smoothly into a tight hug. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say on this one except that the end scene with Catra, Adora, and Finn talking in the dark kind of came out of nowhere but it's probably one of my favorite scenes in the whole fic. There's an old saying I've heard that says, "At three in the morning, everyone tells the truth." I've heard it phrased as "shows their true self" as well. I've had a lot of late night conversations myself that were just honest and direct and I'm glad those three got to have one as well.


	26. This labor, by slow prudence to make mild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team drives out to Dralar's farm to ask questions about Finn's background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The next afternoon found The Team flying across the sky towards the edge of the Fright Zone. It felt less like leaving home this time and more like part of a routine. As they flew, Izzy stood by Artho, helping with navigation, as Oak kicked back up front with Finn. 

“I could get used to this,” Oak said as she stuck her arms behind her head. “Feels weird going back pretty much the same way we just came though.” 

“Well, not really the same way,” Izzy said as she double checked her map and then the instrument panel. “We’ll tack onto a different heading here in just a few kilometers that’ll steer us away from the way you came in.” 

“Izzy, I’ve missed you,” Artho said with a grin.

She gave a small grin in return but didn’t say anything as they flew on. As night approached they were within sight of the Fright Zone. Izzy went to the front of the skiff to watch it come into sight as Artho followed the beacons towards the landing area. 

“Something else isn’t it?” Oak said. Izzy nodded, trying to take in the riot of green overlaying towers, buildings, and various pieces of equipment and junk. 

“I’ve seen pictures of it before it got overgrown. It was brutal looking,” Oak said. 

“You know, every time I see it, it’s always bigger than I remember. I can’t believe Mom and Mother grew up in that,” Finn said.

“Hey, you want to be technical, Artho and I grew up in that,” Oak said. “Had a great time as well.” 

“That’s true,” Finn said. “Although I’m guessing it was a little bit different.”

“You mean we weren’t under the Horde?” Artho said. “Yeah, that was a pretty big difference. We used to play in Hordak’s old sanctum back in the day. Got a feeling we wouldn’t have got away with that.” 

They settled in at the landing area as Artho and Oak waved to a few of the Hordies that were on duty at the landing area that day. Hordies had started as ex-Horde soldiers that had joined together after the war to rebuild and then stayed together as a company/commune after it was done going around doing construction and other projects. 

“Hey, there Geoff,” Artho said as she slid down the side of the skiff to one of the Hordies that was walking up. 

“Hey to you too, Artho,” Geoff said. He was a short scrawny guy and not much older than Artho. He’d never known the Horde as anything but history but had joined up with Hordies when he was younger because he liked their mission of building and helping out for those who needed it. “What brings you back to the Zone? I thought you all had vacated out for Plumeria for the time being.” 

“Just some traveling,” Oak said as she climbed down.

“Any problems if we leave the skiff here overnight?” Artho said as she stretched. 

“Naw, that’ll be fine,” Geoff said. “We got a big cargo skiff coming in later tonight to pick some stuff up but it’ll be out of the way I think.” 

“Sweet,” Artho said. “You got a truck we can borrow tomorrow?” 

“Haven’t a clue. You’ll have to speak with Eel over at the vehicle garage,” Geoff said while Oak elbowed Finn when she heard the name. 

“Can do,” Artho said. “We’re headed for Horror Hall for the night. Have a good one.” 

Geoff gave a little wave as they all parted and started to walk as the stars started peeking out in the growing darkness of evening. There were lights here and there on the buildings and structures along the road but they were designed to not throw light upwards and cause light pollution so their walk was through soft light with the growing beauty of the nighttime Etherian sky. It wasn’t long before they were walking up the steps to Horror Hall and into the large throne room. 

“Welcome to our home!” Oak said, throwing her arms out. 

“Sometimes home, date and time of when it is home to be determined by Mom and Mom,” Artho said as she walked up and plopped herself on the throne under the mural of her great-grandfather. 

“Killjoy,” Oak said as she sat down on the step to the throne. Izzy was walking around the room, looking at the restored art and architecture. Finn walked with her hand in hand. She took her time on each thing that interested her before finally sitting down next to Oak. Finn dropped their pack in front of them all and stretched out on the floor with their head resting on their pack. 

“Well, what’s for dinner?” Finn said. 

“I’d say we could raid the pantry but I know it’s empty right now,” Oak said. “Maybe we could go hit up the Hordies, see if we can eat with them?” 

“Or we could just make something ourselves,” Finn said. 

“You know, I was thinking about how nice it was to be out and going again. I take it all back if I have to cook,” Artho said. 

Finn rolled their eyes as they said, “As if you don’t take turns cooking for that huge group that is your family.”

“That’s different,” Artho said. 

“How?” Finn replied. 

“Because I said so,” Artho said. 

“Well, if you put it that way. Seriously, I’ll do it if it bothers you so much. Izzy, grab the stove and pot please,” Finn said as they reached into their pack and pulled out a few cans. Izzy dug around in her pack and pulled out the stove and pot. 

“Wait, what are you making?” Artho said. 

“Dump It In Delight,” Finn said as they opened up the cans.

“I haven’t heard about that one,” Izzy said as she set up the stove and got it running. 

“Mother taught me. She said her and Mom came up with it when they were first living together after the war. You take a few cans of something you like and you dump it in the pot together and heat it up. Quick. Simple,” Finn said as they dumped all the cans in the pot and put it on the stove. 

Oak started laughing at the look on Artho’s face. 

“Well, you didn’t want to cook. Finn stepped up for us,” Oak said. 

“What is in that?” Artho said. 

“Take a breath there, it’s just a can of soup and some veggies. It’s great with some homemade croutons although that kind of defeats the simplicity of it,” Finn said as Izzy handed them a spoon and they gave everything a little stir. “If you don’t like it I’m sure we can find some old ration bars around here somewhere. I don’t think they go bad; they just shrink up a little.”

Artho pinched her nose for a moment as she said, “I’d rather eat sand than a ration bar.” 

“I can arrange that. Again,” Oak said with a grin. 

“You didn’t make her eat sand did you?” Izzy said, a bit horrified.

“It’s really obvious you’re an only child, Izzy,” Oak said with a laugh. 

“Yes, she did,” Artho said to Izzy. “It was tragic!”

“Don’t feel bad for her. It was payback for when she convinced me to eat Princess Berries that she swore were ripe,” Oak said. “It felt like my whole mouth had not only gone dry but that it would never know moisture again. It was horrendous.”

Izzy was starting to look a bit horrified as Finn laughed. 

“How either one of you made it through your childhoods to get to this point, I’ll never know,” Finn said. 

“Mom pulling us apart, regularly, probably helped,” Artho said. 

Finn looked down and said, “Go ahead and get the bowls out. This will be ready soon.” 

“I like how you imply that it’s being  _ cooked _ ,” Artho said. “It’ll be warmed up you mean.” 

Finn grinned and said, “Don’t like it, again, I’m sure we can find some ration bars around here somewhere.”

“Forget the bowls, let’s just eat out of the pot,” Oak said as she pulled out a spoon. Izzy rummaged around and brought out a boule of bread.

“Grandma made this for us,” Izzy said as she tore it into four pieces and held them out for everyone to take their pick. Soon they were sitting around the pot as they dipped in bread for the broth, ate the pieces of food with spoons, and chatted and laughed together. When it was almost empty, they passed it around to drink off what was left. 

Later that evening, they were all lying on the ground in the throne room staring up at the mural. Finn had their head on Izzy’s shoulder as she idly fiddled with their ears as they purred occasionally. Oak fiddled with a little polished cube, putting it on its corners and spinning it on the ground or tossing it back and forth between her hands, as Artho hummed some rambling tune. They had a lamp on behind them and it cast their shadows along the throne and walls. 

“So that’s your two’s great-grandfather?” Izzy said. 

“Yep. The Last of the Scorpioni Kings,” Oak said dramatically. “Mom says he was a great man but she also doesn’t really remember him to be honest. I think her moms told her that. I know she leaves this open for people to come and look if they want but when they’re doing kingdom business, they always do it somewhere else in the Fright Zone.”

“Mom said she doesn’t like the feel of the place, especially when people are coming to them for help with something. It’s too negative a space and sets up a poor relationship with people they’re supposed to serve is what she says,” Artho said. 

“I tried to read something about the history but I didn’t have time to really dig in with some other stuff I was doing,” Izzy said. “The Scorpioni show up mostly as aggressors.”

“I really need to take you to see Grandpas George and Lance,” Finn said. “They’re historians. They have a huge library and they probably have a bunch of stuff on it.”

Oak said, “You know there’s a big Scorpioni community in Salineas. Mom approached them after the war with Mom to see if any of them wanted to return here and live again but they were already two generations settled. Mom understood but Mom was kind of crushed from what I understand. She couldn’t ever imagine leaving her home for good, she loves Plumeria too much. I think those people she was talking to had never left their home though. Their ancestors had and they were mostly gone by then.” 

“You get them coming through occasionally to see where their families came from but from what I know, this doesn’t really look much like what it used to,” Artho said. “Too much has happened between now and then.” 

They all fell silent as they continued to look up at the mural in the gloom. 

“That’s kind of melancholy,” Finn said. 

Oak nodded as she said, “It is but Mom likes to say that’s the past and we can’t alter it but we can make the future what we want so make it better.” 

They lapsed back into silence for a little bit before Izzy gently nudged Finn as they started to breathe deep and regular. 

“Finn,” Izzy said quietly.

“Huh?” Finn said as they sat up a little. 

“You were falling asleep,” she said. 

“Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night and had a big conversation with my moms in the middle of the night,” Finn said as they sat up. 

“Let’s go to the bedroom then. Our room is just down the hall,” Oak said as she stood and stretched. They all made their way down the hall, Izzy looking around with interest in the darkness that was lit by only their lantern. 

“Does this place not have power?” she asked. 

“It does. It’s just not hooked up right now since no one is staying here long term. Since we’ll just be here a few days, I didn’t want to mess with that,” Artho said. “Be glad we have our camp pads with us too. The futons we normally sleep on are with the family in Plumeria. We’ll be sleeping on the old Horde bunks and stone is more comfortable without padding.” 

“You know, I think I’m beginning to understand why my moms’ bed is so solid,” Finn said as they walked into the room and saw the solid steel beds. 

“Ah, come on! You get used to it pretty quickly,” Oak said. “Besides, we’re on an adventure. Can’t let ourselves get soft.” 

Finn gave a little rap on the steel before rolling out a sleeping pad and throwing their sleeping bag on top of it. “I’m not worried about that,” they said. 

“If you’re worried about getting soft, you can just sleep on the steel,” Artho said to Oak. 

“As an up-and-coming adventurer, I know how important rest is so I’ll forgo that pleasure,” Oak said. 

Izzy had pulled herself up onto the bunk above Finn and had already pulled out a book and a small headlamp as she started flipping through pages. Finn grinned as they got onto the lower bunk beneath her. 

“Izzy has got the right idea,” Finn said. 

“Alright,” Artho said. “Bathroom is a little further down the hall we just came down. If you hear anything weird, it’s just the entire structure of the Fright Zone slowly settling. You get weird drafts through too that cause noise. Don’t worry about it.” 

Both Finn and Izzy turned to face Artho. 

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Finn said. “I don’t remember that little bit from the last time I stayed here with my moms.” 

“Yeah, when the power isn’t going, you can hear some weird noises. I’m not messing with you, I’m serious. Oak and I have been all through this place and I’ve heard screeches, groans, sighs, rumblings, you name it,” Artho said. 

Oak was nodding her head as she yawned and stretched from a top bunk. 

“She’s not kidding,” Oak said. “You really do hear some weird stuff in here sometimes. It’s not so bad here because Horror Hall is technically a different building, even though it’s connected to the main bulk of the Fright Zone, but the bathroom by us is actually in the main bulk itself. So yeah, you could hear some weird things. Seriously though, it’s fine.” 

Finn leaned back and shook their head as they said, “Lovely. The place already looks like it should be haunted and then this.” 

Izzy laughed as she leaned over and said, “Just wake me up. I’ll walk with you and hold your hand.” 

“Don’t joke, I’ll hold you to that,” Finn said. 

Artho sprawled out on her bunk as she said, “I’m turning the lantern off now. You going to be alright, Finn?” 

“Oh yeah, mock me and my perfectly reasonable worries,” Finn said with a laugh. “If I see your great-grandfather or any other family members for that matter, I’ll tell them to come say hello to you.” 

Artho turned the light off then without comment and plunged the whole room into darkness except for the little glow of Izzy’s headlamp. Finn lay back and as the room went quiet as everyone settled down, sure enough, without the hum of power through the walls, they could hear the occasional little strange noise. Finn found that there was one noise in particular, a little crackling noise, that they found kind of soothing and as they listened for it, they slowly drifted off to sleep. 

The next morning Finn came awake to a pitch black room and the sound of someone moving around. Finn had no idea what time it was but they felt well rested so they assumed it was morning sometime. They strained to see anything but the dark was absolute. 

“Who’s up?” Finn said quietly. 

The noise stopped for a moment and then Oak responded out of the darkness, “Sorry, it’s me. Didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“Naw, it’s fine,” Finn said as they sat up. “Is it not daytime yet?” 

“Oh, yeah, it’s been light out for a little bit now,” Oak’s voice said out of the dark. “You just don’t get light down into the interior. Mom keeps talking about running in some kind of skylight system but it never happens.”

Finn waved their hand in front of their face and saw nothing. 

“Sheesh, how do you move around in this?” Finn said as they flailed around for a moment to find their pack and then started groping around in it for a light. 

“Practice,” Oak said. “Spent a lot of time in this room. I could walk through here with my eyes closed.”

“Not like that makes a difference,” Finn said as they heard her start to move again. Just as they found their flashlight, they heard Oak crash to the ground. Finn flicked on their flashlight to see Oak sprawled out as she held a hand up to keep the blinding light out of her eyes. 

“Walk through with your eyes closed, huh?” Finn said. 

“It’d help if my sister hadn’t left her pack at the foot of the bed,” Oak said as she started to get up.

“Turn on a light next time,” Artho’s sleepy voice said from under her sleeping bag. “You do this all the time when we’re staying here.” 

“I’m getting better though!” Oak said as she dusted herself off. 

“Sounds like we’re all up,” Izzy said, yawning. “Let’s get going to go see this Dralar. We could be ahead of schedule.” 

Finn smiled as they said, “Izzy, the pure joy in your voice about being ahead of schedule… I love you.” 

There was another big yawn from above Finn in the bunk and then Izzy said, “I love you too. The yawn has nothing to do with you.” 

Everyone laughed and soon the room was full of activity as everyone took a turn to take the lantern and go get cleaned up. They had a quick breakfast of cereal and then stuck their packs on the beds and went walking out of Horror Hall into the light of the morning towards the vehicle garage. They came around a corner to a huge door stretching high above their heads. Finn and Izzy, who hadn’t seen it before, stopped to marvel at it for a moment. 

“I was not expecting a cavern,” Finn said. 

“It must have been to get larger skiffs in and out,” Izzy said.

Oak nodded and said, “Izzy has it right in one. I’ve seen the largest class of skiff the Horde made coming in. It barely clears the top.” 

They walked into the place, with various Hordies running around, some loading up trucks and skiffs while others worked on different vehicles. It was not a quiet space, full of yelling, laughter, clanking, power tools screeching, flashing lights from welding rigs, and overlapping music from various sources. Artho led them through to a tired looking woman wearing a sleeveless shirt and overalls sitting on a tall chair in front of a raised table covered with paper and holding a data pad. She looked up at Artho and Oak as they walked up to the table and just gave a long sigh as she ran a hand over her face and looked down, the two small horns on her head dipping down to point at the two with a tattoo of First One’s writing going across her bald head. 

“What?” she said as she looked back up. “What do you want?” 

“Hello, Irene! Good to see you again!” Oak said as she stepped up to the table. “I’m looking for Eel.”

“Not here and whatever it is you two want, the answer is no. I’m sure you were thinking, ‘Oh, she forgot what happened last time!’ I have not. Neither have the techs who had to help me out and they’ll chew me out if I say yes to what you want,” Irene said.

“The answer is no?” Artho said. 

“That’s correct,” Irene said. 

“Well my question was, ‘Are you going to refuse to help us?’ so I’m glad to know the answer to that is no!” Artho said. 

Irene gave them both a long, irritated look before she said, “You don’t want to know my answer to that. Go away.”

Oak started to lean against the table with a big smile on her face and was about to start talking when Irene sat down the data pad and picked up a large wrench. Oak stood back up, keeping the same smile, as she said, “Come on. We just need to check out a vehicle. Just for the day. We’re not going far and we’re not hauling anything.” 

Izzy had her arm linked through Finn’s arm and Finn was leaning their head onto her shoulder as they both watched. Finn whispered to her, “I think we’re going to be walking.” 

Izzy gave a little smile that went right off her face as Irene turned her attention to her. 

“You two with them?” she said, pointing with the wrench at Izzy and then at Oak and Artho.

“Yes, ma’am, we are,” Finn said, putting on their best winning smile. “Can we offer something to you as insurance to show that we’ll be careful?” 

“You can drop that overly friendly tone and stop calling me ma’am for one. You sound like these two when they want something and it puts me on edge. To answer your question, no. These two destroyed, shut your mouth, yes you did,” Irene snapped at Artho as she started to speak before turning back to Finn, “a good heavy hauler trying to pull some hunk of junk out of the mud last year. It took forever to get it rebuilt.” 

Finn looked at Artho and Oak as they sighed and said, “Really?” 

“It was for a good cause,” Oak said. 

“They thought they’d found First One’s tech and were trying to haul it out,” Irene said. “It was an old bot and before either one of you says something it wasn’t even the model that actually had some First One’s tech built into it.”

“But what if it had been some new discovery!?” Oak said, spreading her hands out as if presenting something.

“But it  _ wasn’t _ some new discovery, it was three busted axles, a busted drivetrain, and an engine that needed an entire overhaul because neither one of you decided to dig deep enough to free it up properly,” Irene said. “Which, I might add, if you had dug down more you would have  _ clearly _ seen the Horde markings all over it!” 

“You know…,” Artho started to say. 

Irene pointed with the wrench as she said, “You don’t get it. You did it, you destroyed the hauler. Fine. Whatever. Stuff gets wrecked all the time, people screw up. But what really gets me is that sure, you apologized for it but you try to make a joke out of it and play it off all the time. It’s like your apology means nothing to you. I know you’re not Hordies but that ‘It is my problem’ part of the oath I took when I joined? I take it seriously and I don’t appreciate seeing you play that whole thing off.” 

Artho and Oak stood quietly and didn’t say anything. Finn kept their mouth shut and Izzy was just taking the whole thing in, feeling incredibly uncomfortable and awkward. Oak carefully raised her hand after a long pause. 

“Just say it,” Irene snapped at her. 

“Listen, I’m sorry, we’re not trying to play it off. We just… I guess I didn’t think you were angry like this. I thought you were just being, you know, gruff. We know it was serious, I promise. We won’t joke around about it anymore. We just wanted a small truck for a day trip but we have a skiff, we can take that instead. Sorry to bother you,” Oak said. 

Oak grabbed Artho and said, “Come on.” 

They’d taken a few steps when Irene said, “Hold on. Are you serious?” 

“Yeah. I just thought we were bantering,” Oak said.

Irene tapped the table with the wrench for a moment while she looked at Artho and Oak. 

“I’m an idiot,” Irene grumbled to herself before speaking up louder. “Alright, come on.”

She set down the wrench and started walking off into the garage. Artho and Oak looked at each other and then quickly went after her as Finn and Izzy trailed along. She went into a smaller room that looked more like a traditional garage with some trucks in it and walked over to a pickup styled vehicle with six wheels evenly spaced under it. The vehicle was still the original Horde green and was covered in dents and scratches with no roof on it and a simple windshield. The seat was a pipe framed bench with cloth strung tight between them. 

“Give me the key to your skiff,” Irene said. Artho took it out and handed it over to her. 

“Alright, here’s how it’s going to go. I’m going to let you take this thing. It’s got a full charge on it. I expected you to put a full charge back on it when you get it back. If you damage it, well, that old Horde tech was modular and I’ll use your skiff for parts. If you’re wondering why I’m doing this, Hordie Oath also says everyone deserves a chance,” Irene said. “This is yours. Got it?” 

Finn looked at the battered vehicle again and was tempted to ask how she’d tell if it was damaged but kept their mouth shut as Oak agreed for them all. Irene gave them one last long look and then walked off shaking her head. 

“I can not believe you two didn’t tell me you destroyed a heavy hauler,” Finn said. 

“It wasn’t a proud moment,” Oak said. “Does anyone know how to drive one of these?” 

Finn and Izzy shook their head and Artho just said, “You know I never bothered to learn. Finn, Izzy, if you want to sit on the bench up front with her, I’ll ride in the bed.” 

Finn looked over the door into the interior and said, “Izzy?” 

Izzy shrugged and tossed her satchel over the back of the seat into the floorboard. Finn opened the door, expecting a loud screech or to have it fall off in their hand, but was surprised to have it swing open smoothly. They got in and sat down in the middle while Izzy got in next to them and Oak got into the driver’s seat. Oak looked over the basic instrument board for a moment and then sighed. 

“Now I’m super nervous about taking this out,” Oak said. 

Izzy looked up from a map she’d pulled out of the bag and said, “It’s only a few hours at most and it’s along a well packed road. Well, according to this. I think we’ll be fine.” 

Oak didn’t say anything but pushed the power button and carefully drove out of the garage and began to follow Izzy’s directions. After just a little driving they were soon out of the Fright Zone’s main area and the surrounding landscape became less broken and full of old equipment and came out to open countryside. They finally made the turn off the main road at a little mailbox with ‘Dralar’ painted on the side and began to drive down a rutted one lane drive. 

“Hey, hit those ruts a bit harder would you?” Artho complained from the back. 

“You wanted to ride back there. Not like this seat is much more comfortable. I’ve been bashed against the bars a few times,” Finn said.

“I’ll trade you the bars for solid metal everywhere back here,” Artho said. 

“Could you all stop complaining? Seriously? I’m trying to concentrate,” Oak said. Artho slid up behind her and leaned forward. 

“Concentrate you say? Are you really? Concentrating that is. I just want to be sure that you’re concentrating hard. I wouldn’t want to distract you from hitting the next bump or hole. That would be awful,” Artho said.

Oak hit the brakes hard and Artho slid forward, falling head first into the seat between her and Finn. Her tail flew forward and smacked Finn in the back of the head with the stinger. 

“Artho! Watch that tail!” Finn hollered as Oak leaned her arm into Artho’s back. 

“I will throw you out and make you walk. See if I won’t. I’m not messing this truck up so let me pay attention to my driving!” Oak said. Artho stuck a thumb up and Oak let her up so she could climb back into the back. They continued the drive and soon pulled up in front of a small house. The property had a couple of large open sided pavilions with farm equipment under them close to the house and a barn off to the back by some trees. Large open fields stretched away to one side while trees were on the other. Oak pulled over and parked a little way away from the building. 

“What are we doing?” Oak said and everyone was feeling the same tension that had sprung up when they saw the house. 

“I’m going up there to talk,” Finn said. “Izzy, I can feel your tension and yes, you’re going with me. You two, stay here with the truck. If something goes bad,  _ call someone first,  _ then come to help if you can. Ok?”

There was a nodding of heads as Finn and Izzy got out of the truck and stretched. Izzy pulled the data pad out and handed it to Oak and they started walking towards the house as Finn took Izzy’s hand. She squeezed tight as they walked.

“There’s no reason to expect this to go bad,” Finn said quietly. 

Izzy took a long, deep breath before saying, “We thought the same last time.”

“And you got us out last time,” Finn said with a smile.

Izzy gave them a long look and then focused back on the house as they were almost up to it. Finn stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a long wait, they knocked again. Finn turned to look at Izzy and shrugged before knocking a bit louder and saying, “Hello!?” 

“Maybe they’re out working?” Finn said after a long pause. 

“It’s pretty much winter, Finn,” Izzy said. “I would think they’d be around here.” 

Izzy looked around nervously as Finn stepped away from the door and walked to the corner of the house to peer around. 

“I think we need to leave and come back this evening,” Izzy said. “Like right now.” 

Finn looked back at her and said, “Can I give one shout to see if maybe he’s back there?”

Izzy nodded quickly as she continued to peer around her. She saw Artho and Oak back at the truck. Artho gave a short wave but Oak still sat in the driver’s seat and Izzy was sure that Oak had never shut the truck off. 

“Ok,” Izzy said. 

Finn shouted out with a voice that they used to be heard over a whole contentious theater company. 

“Hello!? Is anyone here!?” 

Izzy wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear something replied back or not but either way, there was no reply. She was about to say something when Finn said, “Hey, there’s a door on the side here. It’s open.” 

“Finn! It is time to go!” Izzy said with a quiet urgency as she stepped forward to them. Finn wanted to go and look in that open door but they could see how nervous she was and they remembered the last time when it had gone bad. They’d spent most of it unconscious while she’d spent most of it running in fear. 

“Alright, we’ll leave right now,” Finn said and started walking towards the truck. Izzy was right behind them and they were soon back at the truck. 

“Not there?” Artho said. 

“Or not answering,” Finn said. “We’re going to leave and come back later I think.” 

Artho hopped back into the bed of the truck and Finn got in as well with Izzy the last one on. She’d been right about Oak keeping it running because almost before she had the door shut, Oak was backing the truck up. She kept looking around as Oak got lined up to head back down the road and so she spotted the open window with a curtain blowing out of it. 

“Stop,” Izzy said. 

“What is it?” Oak said as she halted. 

“There’s a window open on the other side of the house,” Izzy said. “Finn saw an open door on the opposite side. Somethings wrong.” 

“And?” Oak said. Izzy was nervously fiddling with the short hair that was starting to grow in next to her ear, trying to tuck it back, and finally grunted. 

“I’m going to go up there and take a quick look. You all stay here, I’ll be right back,” Izzy said.

“Phhhftttt, no you are not,” Finn said. “You just asked me to leave. If you’re going up there, I’m going with you.” 

“It’ll be ok. I’ll be fine on my own,” Izzy said, images of Finn getting hurt dancing through her head and making her stomach clench. 

“Izzy…,” Finn started to say. 

“Finn, please, no,” Izzy said, cutting them off. 

Artho wrapped her knuckles against the frame of the seat and everyone jumped. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt this but the truck can drive off road,” Artho said. “Oak, just drive it up to the side of the house and if something jumps out and goes boo, we’ll drive off. The ground is even pretty smooth, probably smoother than that drive in.” 

Izzy was nodding her head and said, “Oak?” 

Oak sighed and shifted into reverse and started to back up to get turned around. 

“If I have to explain to Irene why the truck is destroyed, I’m going to cry,” Oak said. 

“Then drive carefully,” Artho said with a grin. Oak mumbled something but pulled up close to the side of the house. They all stared inside and Oak was the first to notice. 

“The dresser drawers are all stacked up on the bed,” Oak said. 

Artho jumped out of the bed of the truck and Izzy and Finn both started gesturing at her. 

“You’re  _ right here,”  _ Artho said. “I’m stepping ten feet up!” 

“Be careful!” Oak hissed at her. 

Artho took a deep breath and stepped up, looked around inside the window and turned around. 

“There’s nothing in there,” Artho said. “The bed has no sheets, the drawers are empty, there’s no pictures, nothing. It looks like it’s been cleaned out but like, meticulously.” 

Izzy and Finn looked at each other and they both got out. 

“You both were just arguing about this!” Oak said. “I’m supposed to be the reckless one!” 

“Well, be the reckless one driving if we have to get out fast,” Finn said as they walked up to the window and looked in with Izzy. They saw exactly as Artho had described and then looked at each other. 

“You want to go in that door don’t you?” Izzy said. Finn nodded as she sighed. “Oak, pull it around to the other side. Come on, Artho.” 

The three walked around while Oak drove around to the other side of the house and parked in front of the side door as the other three walked up to it. The light got a little darker as clouds started covering the sky as everyone looked at each other. 

“Oh, yeah, that’s not ominous,” Oak said. 

“Same deal? Artho, you stay out here with Oak,” Izzy said. 

“Absolutely not,” Artho said and then walked right into the door with Izzy scrambling in behind her. Finn walked in to find a room that went from the front of the house to the back, the back half serving as the kitchen and the front half as the living room. In the kitchen, every cabinet door stood open and empty. The living room was mostly bare except for an old busted chair in the corner. Slightly discolored rectangles on the wall showed where pictures had once hung and the fireplace had a stack of wood in the small wood rack near it. Izzy carefully stepped towards a door that was partly ajar and looked in. 

“It’s the bedroom,” she said. “I can see the bathroom. I think that’s the whole place.” 

“I wonder how long he’s been gone for?” Finn said. 

“Can’t have been that long,” Oak said from the door holding the data pad, causing everyone to jump. 

“Why aren’t you in the truck!?” Finn said, trying to lay their fur back down. 

“Because it’s getting really cloudy and it’s kind of creepy out there by myself with the wind picking up and starting to whistle through those pavilions and I’m really ready to go!” Oak said. 

“Why do you think it hasn’t been that long?” Izzy said. 

“Because someone would have moved in if he’d been gone a long time, taken the equipment, or something. Also, there’s no grass growing around the equipment, there’s no leaves blown into the house even though the trees aren’t that far away, and everything just kind of has that feel like someone has just stepped out and have I said how creepy this feels? Because it does!” Oak said, looking around. 

Finn was standing in front of the fireplace, looking at the stacked split wood, and then into the fireplace itself. They picked up the poker and stirred the ashes a little and as a scent of old cold ashes came out, Finn saw a few scraps of paper turned up by the poker. 

“It looks like he was burning paper too,” Finn said as they reached in and carefully pulled out a few scraps. It seemed to be pieces of a letter but it only had a few words on it that gave no hint to what they had said. “It looks like this was from a letter.” 

“Why would he be burning letters?” Artho said. 

“Really? You need to read more adventure stories. Obviously they had something in them he didn’t want found,” Oak said. 

Izzy was nodding a little and said, “Especially if he was going to travel and didn’t want them on him but didn’t want to leave them behind either.”

“So you think…,” Finn said before trailing off. 

“He’s gone,” Izzy said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to have the whole thing posted by Tuesday at this rate!


	27. And manners, climates, councils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dralar appears to have left with no indication they'll be back. Now The Team has a few obstacles in their way but then, how is that any different from their normal routine?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

The room was silent as everyone took in the idea that Dralar showed every sign of having run off. Finn was the first to speak up. 

“Why leave all of this behind? They’ve been farming this for years and years now,” Finn said.

“Because they’re probably worried about someone coming for them,” Oak said.

“Why though? Mom and Mother had already been out here to see him,” Finn said. 

“I’m guessing it’s one thing to know you’ve still got some cover and another to know everyone knows,” Artho said. 

“But we just wanted to ask them questions! And how did they even know!?” Finn said as they threw their hands up in the air. 

“You think they got warned by Blu, Kiwi, or Snow-by?” Izzy said. 

“Probably Kiwi but yeah, one of them,” Finn said. 

“Well, imagine what she probably told him about what happened. I doubt she was wholly truthful,” Izzy said. “And there are other people they could worry about coming out after them than us.”

“That’s true. Which makes our next step…?” Oak said. 

“We call Cowrie again because now we go to Seaworthy and find Orca,” Finn said.

“Then let’s get in the truck and get out of here,” Oak said as she handed the data pad to Izzy. As she said that they heard the sounds of rain starting to fall.

“Did anyone think to check the weather before we left?” Izzy said. 

“I think it’s obvious that we did not,” Artho said as she looked out at the rain picking up. “No one left anything in the truck did they?” 

Everyone shook their head as Oak sighed as she looked at the rain soaking the truck and said, “Irene is going to kill me.” 

“Why?” Izzy said. 

“Trucks getting soaked,” Oak said. 

“Oak, I think you’re fine. That truck has no roof and the seat is the same stuff they put on outdoor furniture. I’m pretty sure a little water isn’t going to hurt it,” Finn said. 

“Well it’s a lot of water but I get what you’re saying,” Oak said. “Are we going to ride back and get soaked?” 

Izzy stuck her hand out the door into the rain.

“It’s pretty cold rain,” Izzy said as she shook the water off. “Probably not a good idea. The air is getting colder too. I think we should try and sit it out.” 

“In the creepy abandoned house?” Artho said. 

“In the house that no one is likely to come back to,” Finn said. 

They all sat down on the ground and watched the rain out the door as it started to come down in sheets. The air temperature kept dropping and they pulled their coats around themselves a little tighter. The light got dimmer as the clouds lowered. They talked a little as they waited and after a couple of hours had gone past with no sign of the rain letting up Finn said, “How long do you think this can last?” 

Oak said, “I know rain can last a few days in the winter around here but we should get a break soon. It’s rare for it to keep going and going for the whole time.”

“Besides, we have the data pad,” Izzy said. “We can always call for someone to come out with a covered vehicle if necessary.” 

“That’s true,” Artho said. “Trust Izzy to have a plan.” 

“All I know is that I’m getting hungry,” Oak replied. “I got a small bag of mixed nuts in my pocket I’m willing to share. Anyone else have anything?” 

Izzy rummaged around in her satchel and pulled out a few pieces of chocolate, Finn had some crackers, and Artho just shook her head. 

“I didn’t think about it,” Artho said. “You three split it up between you.”

“Nope, that’s not how The Team works,” Finn said as they portioned everything out into four even amounts. “You take the first pick of which pile you want.” 

Artho didn’t argue and took one pile and then each of the others picked one and started snacking. Izzy pulled out her collapsible cup and got water from the sink to pass around. It reminded Finn of home a little and they let out a small sigh as they ate. 

“Thinking of snack time with your moms?” Izzy said. 

  
  


Finn nodded but didn’t say anything. As they finished up, they heard the sound of the rain shift. Artho got up and walked to the door and looked out. 

“It’s starting to sleet,” she said. “And it’s sticking to everything.” 

“Are we stuck here?” Finn said. 

Oak was slowly shaking her head as she said, “No, the truck can handle it if it lets up. I’ll just have to drive really slow.” 

Izzy was tapping at the data pad and said, “It says the system is expected to last for a while. There’s probably going to be snow tonight.” 

“Well, what now? I mean, we can light the fireplace for warmth and our coats are warm enough to sleep in. We drag that mattress in here and get close, and we have water but we’re going to get real hungry unless Dralar left something in the cabinets we didn’t see,” Finn said. Everyone was silent as they realized it was probably time to call for help when Oak’s eyes caught a tarp covering up a tractor. 

“I have an idea,” she said as she stood up. “We take one of the tarps from outside and strap it to the bed of the truck and tie it off to the windshield. All of you can lay down in the bed and my jacket should give me enough protection, especially if it starts snowing. It might get a bit cold by the end but I can absolutely drive us out of here.”

“This is how you ended up walking up to Irene with the remains of a busted windshield cradled in your arms, you know that right?” Artho said. 

“No way. There’s little anchor points on the frame. I think it’s supposed to have a soft top that we didn’t get,” Oak said. 

“I think we need to think about this,” Izzy said. “At least here we’re comfortable and we can wait for someone if we need to. If something goes wrong on the road, we’ll have to get under a tree or be crammed in the back, not to mention the danger of the weather.” 

“Listen, I just have to say that if we do this, we’re dragging that mattress into the bed of the truck,” Artho said, pointing towards the bedroom. 

“We’re not stealing a mattress, Artho,” Finn said.

“Technically we’re already breaking and entering so I’m fine with taking the mattress as well but let's be honest, it’s an abandoned house so it’s an abandoned mattress,” Artho said. 

“I’m not debating finders keepers with you,” Finn said with a little laugh. “Besides, it’s huge. I don’t think it’d fit anyway.” 

“I’m willing to try,” Artho said. 

“So you’re all on board with this? Izzy, what about you?” Oak said. 

“I didn’t say I wasn’t. I just felt it was best to lay out potential issues,” Izzy said. 

“Noted. So… yes or no?” Oak said. 

“I say yes but only because I don’t want to sleep on the floor in my coat,” Izzy said.

“I think we’ve already decided to be honest or Artho and I wouldn’t be arguing about the mattress,” Finn said. Artho shrugged and gave a thumbs up. 

“Then let’s not put it off. Let’s go!” Oak said. 

Oak went out into the sleet and moved the truck up under a pavilion near a tractor. The other three ran out through the sleet to the pavilion and found Oak climbing out, flexing her fingers a little as she started to untie a tarp over some of the equipment. 

“What’s wrong with your hands?” Izzy said. 

“Nothing, just a bit cold. The steering wheel had some ice on it but I’ll knock it off before I get going again,” Oak said. 

Izzy just looked at her before pitching in to help. It didn’t take long to tie the tarp down to the truck and soon they had all got on. At the last minute, Izzy got in the front with Oak as Oak started the truck back up.

“What are you doing?” Oak said. 

“Navigating,” Izzy said. 

“But you were supposed to be in the back where it’s…, you know,” Oak said. 

“Were you going to say safe? Because if you’re saying safe then I definitely need to be up here to make sure you’re alright,” Izzy said. 

“No, I wasn’t going to say that, I was just thinking, you know, more comfortable,” Oak said.

“It’s a metal bed that’s been sitting out in almost freezing temps. It’s not comfortable so less argue, more drivey!” Artho shouted from the back as she clapped her hands together. Oak sighed and started driving. 

What had been a decent drive before became a mess at that point. Oak couldn’t drive very fast because the roads were becoming slick but that worked out because the tarp flapped and slapped around any time they started getting some speed going. They’d barely made it to the end of the driveway before they stopped to tie it down better. They crawled along the road and after several hours the light started to fail and snow started falling in thick, fat flakes. Oak kept pulling one hand or the other off the wheel to shake it and try to get it warm as they drove.

“Should we pull over and try again in the morning?” Finn said from the back. 

“No, we’re not far now. Right, Izzy?” Oak said. 

Izzy looked at the map and said, “We should be coming up on the outskirts of the main Fright Zone soon. I think.”

“I think isn’t comforting, Izzy,” Artho said. 

“It’s the best I can do right now,” Izzy said. “We should be on the main road that goes straight in at this point so all we have to do is keep driving forward.” 

It was at that point that a huge gust of wind caught the edge of the tarp and yanked it up. Everyone started shouting and yelling as Oak swerved a little, sliding across the hard packed road, before getting the truck stopped. As they reached up to grab the tarp a ripping noise hit their ears and the front came loose as it flapped back. They got it gathered up quickly then stared at the ripped tarp and then at the flapping pieces still attached to the windshield frame. 

“Get in the bed and pull it down over you,” Oak said without hesitation. “Izzy, you too. If you’re right then I don’t need you up here with me. I’ll get us there.” 

They started to argue with her and she slapped the back of the seat to cut them off as she said, “Come on! Get under cover! I got this. I’ll stop if it gets to be too much and join you.” 

Finn saw a grin blossom on her face as she said the last part and nodded their head.

“Deal. Izzy, come on. Let’s get going,” Finn said and Izzy tucked away the map and climbed back with them and Artho. They all got tucked the tarp around them and Finn reached out from under it and slapped the frame of the truck to let Oak know they were settled. 

It was a little over an hour later when Oak pulled into the main garage of the Fright Zone, shivering, hair frozen, covered in snow, face red and starting to go pale in places from frostbite, and a big grin on her face as she parked the truck right back from where she’d driven it out that morning. She took a moment to get her hands off the wheel, the smile disappearing for a moment as she moved her fingers and winced, then turned around and tapped a lump in the tarp. 

“We’re here,” she said.

The tarp went up, snow sliding off as the three looked out at Oak. A few Hordies were coming towards the truck and then started shouting something as they came towards it faster.

“Glad you finally… dear sweet Mara, your face!” Artho said as she scurried up to put her hands on either side of Oak’s face. Oak flinched a little as the warmth of Artho’s hands felt unbearably hot for a moment. 

“I’m alright,” she said with a smile but her slightly slurred speech said something a little different. The Hordie’s were by the truck asking questions as one of them came pushing through with a huge medical box in hand. Irene was right behind and Oak saw her coming and fumbled the keys out of the ignition with her numb hands and held them out towards her. 

“I’ll get the tarp bits off but the rest should be in good shape. I’ll take care of the tarp right after I hook it up to the charger,” Oak said. Irene took the keys out of her hands as the medic stopped trying to get the frozen door open and just climbed up into the bed to straddle the seat and started checking Oak out. Irene was about to tell her not to worry about it but could see in Oak’s eyes the importance of seeing it through and just nodded. 

The medic in the meantime was about to throw a fit as Oak kept shaking her head and saying, “I’m fine! Really! I’m just cold. I just need to get in a good, hot shower.” 

“You absolutely do not need to do that,” the medic said as she looked at a touchless thermometer. “You’re in the first stage of hypothermia and you have frostbite on your hands and face. If you get into a hot shower you will do more damage to yourself, maybe even stop your heart. You need to get somewhere warm, change clothes, and then get bundled up and eat something warm. For the frostbite use warm,  _ and I mean warm, not hot, _ water and rags to get your skin warmed up. Do you understand me? Do not use hot water!” 

“Why didn’t you say something you idiot!?” Artho said, her hand gently on Oak’s shoulder. 

“It wasn’t so bad after a while and I was getting close,” Oak said. 

“It wasn’t so bad because your exposed skin went numb and hypothermia messes with your head. Don’t worry, you’ll regret it pretty soon as you start to warm up,” the medic said as she looked Oak in the eyes. “Make better choices. Now let me check you three out.” 

She gave them all a once over and saw they were alright and told them to take care of Oak. 

“But I need to get the truck on the charger and the tarp thrown away,” Oak said in protest. 

A Hordie standing next to the truck said, “Already hooked up to the charger.” 

Two other Hordies were cutting the rope on the back and pulling the tarp off as they said, “We got this.” 

“I will tranquilize you and have your friends carry you off if you don’t go get warmed up right now,” the medic said, a warning tone in her voice before turning to the other three. “Make sure she keeps the hands moving for a little bit and elevate her hands and head so they don’t swell. If they do, have someone get me. One of you trade off getting under a blanket or sleeping bag with her until she’s warmed up. She’s going to get really tired when she does get warmed up. Make sure she eats some warm food first and then let her sleep”

“Come on, hero,” Artho said as she helped Oak get down from the truck and they all headed back to Horror Hall through some winding corridors. Halfway there, they could tell Oak was starting to feel the hurt from the thawing frostbite as she winced and shivered. When they finally got back to the room, they got her into her sleeping bag with Artho holding her while Finn ran down the hall to fill up a bowl with warm water and grab a few washcloths. As they carefully warmed her up Izzy rummaged around but couldn’t find their first aid kit. 

“Where’s the first aid kit? I want to give her something for the pain,” she said.

“It’s on the skiff,” Artho said. 

“I’m fine,” Oak said drowsily. “It doesn't hurt as much as it did. I’m just tired.” 

“You’re an idiot is what you are but I’m glad you’re alright,” Artho said as she gave her sister a hug. They made a quick dinner with what was in their packs and soon Oak was asleep with her sleeping bag pulled up tight around her. The other three sat around on the floor next to her. 

Finn said, “You know, when we first started the theater, we screwed up a lot. I was just thinking how this feels kind of the same. Maybe we need to do what we did then and have discussions about what we could have done better.”

“We should have brought our packs,” Izzy said immediately. “Then we would have had food and could have stayed there until the weather broke. I had gloves and a hat in mine so even if we did have to drive, Oak would have been better prepared.”

“Check the weather or just have taken the skiff,” Artho said. “That way we would have had  _ everything _ with us. Also make sure we have the first aid kit with us.”

Finn said, “I think the only problem with taking the skiff is if he had been there, that’s kind of an intimidating thing to land on someone’s front lawn unannounced. Check the weather though, yeah, we really should have, especially when we saw the truck. We need to pay attention to what we have on us at all times.” 

They all talked a little bit longer but were soon yawning themselves. Soon they were crawling into bed so tired that even Izzy didn’t take the time to update her schedule before they were all asleep. The following morning, Oak was the first up, feeling sore and woke everyone else up when she turned on the lantern.

“Why is the light on?” Artho mumbled from her bed. 

“Because I’m not falling over in the dark again,” Oak said as she started to get ready. 

“It’s a miracle,” Artho muttered before rolling over to go to sleep. 

After breakfast, Finn made the call to Cowrie to find out where she was and to see about meeting her again while Oak took a shower and Artho ran out to check the skiff and the weather.

“Sure, I can give you all a lift. Where from and where to?” Cowrie said, the image showing her leaned back at a table somewhere. 

“Bright Moon to Seaworthy if you can,” Finn said. 

“Bright Moon? Really, Finn? You know I hate that harbor! You can barely get a toy boat in there much less my ship! Can’t you meet me somewhere else?” Cowrie said. 

“We gotta go by Bright Moon anyway so we could but it’d take us longer to get somewhere else after,” Finn said. 

“Fine but I’m writing a letter to Glimmer this time to complain,” Cowrie said as someone off camera laughed a little. “Don’t you laugh! I’ll do it! Anyway, why Seaworthy?” 

“The trail leads that way,” Finn said, not wanting to mention Orca until they could do it face to face.

Cowrie sat up as she said, “Nope. Need to be a bit more specific there Finn.” 

“We’re looking for Orca,” Finn said. 

Cowrie stared into the camera before saying, “Orca. The infamous smuggler captain. That Orca?” 

“Yep,” Finn said.

“Finn, do you know anything about this person by any chance or are you just throwing names out?” Cowrie said. 

“I know they’re a smuggler, I know they’ve got a reputation but no, I don’t know a lot,” Finn said. 

“They’ve run a smuggler crew since a little after the war ended. Started young but haven’t let off since. Tough, ruthless, and smart. Crew is very loyal to her as well. Finn, she’s pretty dang scary is what I’m trying to get across here,” Cowrie said. 

“I kind of figured that out,” Finn said. “She’s the next step though. I have to find her and talk with her.” 

“How did you plan on doing…,” Cowrie said before hanging her head while letting out a little mirthless chuckle. “You want me to help you find her don’t you?”

“Well, you are the one married to the sea and you have that loyal crew of your own so, yeah, I was kind of hoping you’d help us out on this,” Finn said. “I have pretty good information that says she routinely goes to Seaworthy and the Enchanted Grotto. I figured Seaworthy was probably a better idea.” 

Cowrie snorted as she said, “At least you show that sign of good sense. I was beginning to wonder to be honest.”

“Are you going to help us still?” Finn said. 

“You know I will because if I don’t I know you’ll just go there yourself and then something awful will happen to you and then I’ll have to explain to your moms how I let you go traipsing in by yourself and they’ll be unhappy with me,” Cowrie said. “Besides, we could use an interesting job. This definitely fits that. When will you be back in Bright Moon?” 

“We’re in the Fright Zone right now so probably tonight if the weather looks good. Next few days at the latest,” Finn said.

“Explains why it looks like you’re in a dark closet at a metal works. Alright, I’ll see you in three days,” Cowrie said and then cut the connection. 

Izzy leaned down from the top bunk and said, “That went alright.” 

Finn handed the data pad up to her as they said, “She’s always up for adventure. I’ll talk with her though when we get on board just to be sure though especially since we’ll probably be involving her crew.”

Artho came walking in as she said, “Snow’s still coming down pretty good. We’ll probably get out tomorrow.” 

Oak came in and immediately got back into her sleeping bag. Everyone turned to her and then saw her face. 

“Do I need to go get the medic!?” Finn said. 

“She did say if it swelled to get her,” Izzy said as she jumped down from the top bunk. “Maybe we should for this too.”

“I’m fine,” Oak said as she nervously picked at the ragged skin on her cheeks. “Really. They’re just drained blisters. It’s what took me so long in the shower.” 

“Thanks, Mom is going to freak out when she sees you,” Artho said. 

“Well next time I’ll dress up better like we did up in the Snows,” Oak said. “Mom is always saying the universe gives us lessons if we just listen.” 

“Stop taking so many lessons,” Artho said. 

“I’d jump up and show you a lesson but I’m nice and cozy. Next time,” Oak said. 

Artho shook her head as Finn chimed in and told everyone about the call with Cowrie. They spent the next day relaxing before climbing up on board the skiff the following afternoon and headed back to Bright Moon. It wasn’t long before they left the snow behind them and raced under low clouds to come to a landing in Finn’s back yard as Catra came strolling out of the back door. 

“Just in time for dinner. Adora should be home in a little bit. I’ll see what I can whip up for everyone,” Catra said as they climbed down and looked closely at Oak. “Lose a fight with a cheese grater?” 

“It’s frostbite,” Oak said. 

“How is it you went to the Kingdom of Snows and didn’t have any issues but you’re in the Fright Zone for a couple days and you get frostbite bad enough to do that?” Catra said with a laugh.

“It’s like this…,” Oak started before Catra waved her hands in front of her.

“Nope, forget I asked, I don’t want to know right now,” Catra said as Finn hugged her. “You all should be hugging me like Finn here.” 

There was a big group hug before she led them all inside. They stacked their bags by the kitchen door and sat down at the table, hanging winter coats, hats, and such on the back of the chairs as they sat down. Catra grabbed a basket of fruit and put it in the middle of the table for everyone. 

“Kibs!” Izzy said in excitement as she grabbed one.

“Yep, some showed up at the market today. I remember you talking about them when we were in Dava so I grabbed some,” Catra said as she went through the pantry pulling stuff out. “I have to ask though. Did you talk to Dralar?” 

“That’s a long story,” Finn said. “The short answer is no, it looks like they’ve run off.”

“Going to try and track him down?” Catra said as she pulled a pot down. 

“Ummm, no, we’re going to just go and talk to Orca instead,” Finn said. 

Catra set the pot down and stared long and hard at Finn. 

“Mother, you knew that might be a chance we’d have to take,” Finn said. 

“It’s one thing to think it might be a chance and it’s another to know it’s going to happen,” Catra said. “Is there no chance you can track this guy down?” 

“I mean, maybe, but really, this was the original plan. This guy was just a chance to try and avoid that,” Finn said. 

Catra nodded, making a note to herself to do something later, before saying, “You’re not going to the Enchanted Grotto, right?” 

“Not if we can avoid it,” Izzy said. “We’re going to Seaworthy. Cowrie is coming to get us soon.” 

Catra started up with cooking again as she said, “We need to talk out contingency plans then. Let’s wait for Adora though. Just relax for now.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My wife has told me she thinks in this, I'm Oak, especially when I was Oak's age. I will not confirm or deny this.


	28. This gray spirit yearning in desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team makes plans and then goes to Seaworthy to meet with the smuggler, Orca, hoping that all will go well and that they'll get another clue for their journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Adora reacted with a sigh when she came in half an hour later as Catra was getting food on the table and got told what was going on. She hung up her long coat and sat down at the table. She drummed her fingers for a moment as she watched The Team load up their plates. 

“What’s the plan?” she finally said as she sat back in her chair.

Everyone turned to look at Izzy. She looked a little nervous as she took a deep breath and said, “We’re going to get picked up by Cowrie, then go to Seaworthy…”

Adora leaned back forward and held her hand out. 

“Sorry to cut you off, Izzy. I should have been more specific. I know you all can get around now without problems,” she said before looking at Oak’s face. “Well, usually. I mean if you find Orca, what is your plan to meet with them?” 

Izzy said, “Finn goes in, I go with them, Artho and Oak stay outside as backup. If we can get Cowrie to go along and bring her crew, we do as well.” 

“I imagine we go in under a fake name. Act like you said the other day,” Finn said. “I’m working on why I’d be looking for what I’m looking for but I kind of have an idea.” 

Oak laughed and said, “Dibs on Sepal again.” 

Artho looked at her as she said, “How do you remember that?” 

“Talent,” Oak said with a grin. 

Adora looked between the two and they saw a look on her face that quieted them up. It wasn’t anger, it was a serious look that they hadn’t seen before. Catra looked at her and knew that look. It was what she thought of as the Force Captain Adora look. It was a look of command Adora had thought she’d needed to cultivate back in the Horde to be taken seriously as young as she was then. Now though, it was a look that didn’t need to be cultivated. She was older, she had the experience to back up the look, and it worried Catra a little to see it the few times it came out. She caught Adora’s eye and Adora gave a brief nod and Catra nodded back. 

“I’m not trying to bring the room down but this worries me and I want to walk through a few scenarios with all of you. Each of you need to be thinking hard about what may or may not go wrong and try to spot flaws in them as we go,” Adora said. “Can we do that?” 

They all nodded and they spent the evening talking it out around the dinner table. Adora relaxed a little and the look went away as the evening went on. Afterwards, as everyone settled down for the night, Adora was tossing an extra blanket on the bed as Catra came in. 

“I just offered the spare bedroom to whoever wanted it but they’re all bunking out on the floor in Finn’s room,” Catra said as she shook her head and shut the door. Adora gave her a little smile as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I saw the look you gave me earlier,” Adora said. “Can we talk about it?” 

Catra leaned against the bedroom door as she said, “It was just a stern look. It always reminds me of the old days. Pre-skiff crash old days.” 

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be like that. It’s just… I don’t know,” Adora said. 

“You’re really worried, this feels like a tactical plan, and you slipped into that mindset. I’ve seen you do it a few times on some of your surveys, the ones that go into really bad terrain or climates and there’s a bunch of things that need to happen to keep everyone safe,” Catra said.

Adora knocked her hand on the mattress a few times as she thought before saying, “You think I never got the Horde mindset out? Fully?” 

Catra walked over and gave her a hug as she said, “I’d say you never really had it. Why else do you think you had to actually practice in the mirror back then? It’s just an old habit you got yourself into I think. It was just strange to see it come around with the kids.” 

Adora fell back on the bed as she said, “It’s weird to call them the kids now. I mean, they’re pretty much fully grown and doing this thing.”

Catra sat down as she said, “They’re always going to be kids to me. Even when we’re old and gray, they’ll be the kids. Also, I know we’re both worried about this but I have an idea of how we can maybe make it a bit less so.” 

“If you say put on disguises and follow them, I’ve already thought of that,” Adora said. “I don’t think we can pull it off.”

“Well, it does involve disguises, kind of,” Catra said and then told Adora her idea she’d had when she started cooking earlier.

“Do it,” Adora said with a grin. 

The next few days were a constant back and forth of trying to figure out exactly what to take with them. Adora and Catra tried to help but they ended up just getting in the way and ended up sitting in the kitchen watching the four sort gear on the living room floor and make their plans. 

“Are we going to be able to take the skiff?” Artho said at one point. “Bright Moon doesn’t really have a spot we can load it onto her ship.” 

“Let’s take it down to the dock tomorrow,” Oak said. “We can ask her then. Aunt Catra, can you fly it back if we can’t take it?” 

“Sure. I’ll be sure and keep Adora away from the controls,” Catra said. 

“I could say the same about you,” Adora said.

“Oh Mara, they’re going to start this again,” Finn said as they put a container of waterproof matches into their pack. 

The next morning they packed up what they wanted to bring in the skiff and what they had to have on their backs and got on board with Catra and Adora. Grandma had already seen them off and was on her way back home as Artho got them into the air and headed for the docks. They sat down by them as Cowrie’s boat came into view and headed towards the dock. She pulled up not long after and jumped over before the boat had fully come to a stop. In her hand was an envelope with a wax seal on it that Finn couldn’t help but notice had the seal of Salineas on it. She marched over and shoved the envelope into Adora’s hand. 

“Make sure Glimmer gets that,” she said. 

“And hello to you as well, Cowrie,” Adora said laughing. 

“I had to come into this harbor again. Be happy I’m speaking,” Cowrie said. 

“Is that a declaration of war?” Catra said. 

“I’m not speaking to you, Aunt Catra,” Cowrie said. Finn couldn’t help but notice she didn’t actually say no as Catra laughed. 

“Let’s get you on board and get back to the ocean and out of this pond,” Cowrie said to The Team. “I see that skiff. Are we taking the skiff?” 

“Can we?” Finn said. 

“Yeah. Land it next to the crane. I’m pretty sure it’s rated for the weight,” Cowrie said. They managed to get the skiff loaded onto the boat, barely, and then there was a last round of good-byes and they were off. 

“Are you sure we can get it on board?” Finn said as they headed out of the harbor and towards the ship. 

Cowrie’s mood improved the deeper the water got and she grinned as she pointed at the boat. Finn could see the crew raising a cargo crane as they got closer. 

“Had it installed after the last little fun with this thing,” she said as she slapped the side of the skiff. 

They all headed down to the cabin, except Artho who was nervously watching the loading, and made sure to set the hammocks just right as they stowed their gear. Soon the ship was under way and they could feel the swells of really deep water as they headed towards Seaworthy. They relaxed on the boat and didn’t talk about what they had planned through the trip, getting back into the routine they had coming down from the Kingdom of Snows. As they made their final approach to Seaworthy, Cowrie came into their cabin one morning to talk with them. The wind had blown up a bit and the ocean was a bit rougher than The Team really liked but Cowrie just stood in the middle of the room not touching anything as she rocked in perfect time with the boat. 

“Alright, so I haven’t bothered you on the trip here but I want to talk about what your plan is to find Orca. I think a few of my crew could probably poke around a little without arousing suspicion but let’s be honest, I’m not in the smuggling game, everyone knows who my parents are, and if I push too hard they’ll assume I’m doing something for them. So, ideas, now,” Cowrie said. 

“Let’s start with those crew members poking around. I think the first thing we try is that,” Izzy said as she looked at her notebook. 

“And if that fails?” Cowrie said. 

“You think you could put out that you’re trying to help a friend get into the smuggling game? Or even that you are?” Oak said. 

“Maybe. I don’t think anyone would buy it for a moment though,” Cowrie said. 

“It doesn’t matter. I just need enough time to talk with her,” Finn said.

“You know she’s got a pretty rough reputation right? She might not take kindly to you trying to trick her,” Cowrie said. 

“Which is why they’re not going to do it alone,” Izzy said. 

Cowrie looked at Izzy for a moment but declined to comment when Artho chimed in, “I think the basic idea for that is we set it up so Finn and Izzy go in and talk, some of your crew are outside wherever it is to give cover if they have to run, and I’m sitting with the skiff to get them out.” 

“You think you can fit a bunch of my crew on that thing?” Cowrie said. 

Artho thought for a moment and said, “Maybe five plus us and that’s unpacking everything on it so we can lift.”

Cowrie snorted as she said, “That’s not enough. Especially if she rolls in with even a quarter of her crew.” 

Oak was enjoying the sway of the ship as she looked at the ceiling and spoke up. 

“Maybe a tavern, pub, cafe, whatever by the dock,” Oak said. “We could dock the ship close and leave quickly that way.”

Cowrie said, rolling her eyes a little, “Not a bad idea but you don’t just turn a key and go away in a ship.” 

Finn held their hand out and let it thump into the wall as they gently swayed and said, “We’re thinking of this all wrong. We’re assuming it goes badly and that it ends up in a fight. If we show up with a whole crew in tow, she might just bolt or we provoke a fight we don’t want.”

“Finn, badly isn’t a fight. That’s just probable. Badly is you both disappear and we never hear from you again,” Cowrie said. 

Finn felt a little ice run down their spine as they said, “Has, um, that happened?” 

“I told you, she has a reputation. Whether or not all of it is true is up for debate but yeah, let’s think of this every which way,” Cowrie said. Finn didn’t realize until later that she hadn’t said no.

They talked for a few more hours until one of the crew knocked on the door and informed them that they were almost to Seaworthy. Finn thought of the dockside eateries and the little gathering place they’d gone with their moms last time and had a feeling they wouldn’t be seeing that side of Seaworthy this time. 

“Alright, we’ll go with what we’ve talked about. I’ll get a couple of the crew to go out and make some inquiries. Remember, do not go above deck. In fact, try to just stay in here. Dark isn’t too far off and we’ll sneak you off then. Get your room, leave a message at the place we discussed, and we’ll be in contact as soon as possible. Remember the passcode?” Cowrie said. 

Oak, thrilled with the whole thing, said, “Absolutely!” 

“You know, you’re awful good at this,” Finn said. 

“I may not be in the game but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to play it,” Cowrie grinned. “Father likes to talk about his old days a lot and you pick up the rest.”

The rest of the day and night were filled with activity. Finn remembered walking through the streets of Seaworthy to a crummy little hostel and getting a room for the four of them. The room they got had no beds, just thin rolled up mattresses stacked in the corner and as Finn sniffed the air they became pretty sure that rats had been living in them. Oak looked skeeved out and Izzy just stood there. Artho grabbed a mattress and rolled it out before sitting down on it.

“I’m pretty sure my butt is touching the floor through this thing,” Artho said as she leaned against the wall. 

“I’m pretty sure you’re going to catch some incurable disease from that thing,” Oak said back. 

“To think I thought the hostel that my moms and I stayed at last time was kind of run down,” Finn said. 

Izzy sat down beside Artho as she said, “We’re not going to have to spend much time here more than likely so we’re lucky there.”

Two days later, they were still sitting in the hostel, waiting on news from Cowrie. The communal shower fascinated Izzy because of the various things growing in it but otherwise there wasn’t much to do besides their twice daily run where two of them would go out to grab something for breakfast and dinner. The other denizens of the place were mostly sailors just looking for a cheap place for a few nights before shipping back out and Finn did have to admit it was pretty quiet since most of them only came in and went right to sleep. 

“Living the life aren’t we?” Izzy said on the evening of the second day as they all sat around on the floor waiting. 

“Yep,” Finn said in a monotone. 

“This is worse than getting stuck in the tent during that rainstorm outside Dryl,” Artho said. 

Oak, who was reading through a paperback again for the second time, didn’t even look up when she said, “All great adventures have their waiting period.”

“I wish we could go around the town,” Finn said. “I kind of want to go to the Crab’s Corner.” 

“Finn, isn’t that…?” Izzy said. 

“It is,” Finn said. 

“It is what?” Artho said. 

“It’s where I met my moms the first time. Technically behind it,” Finn said. 

Artho looked confused for a moment and then understanding dawned on her face. 

“Oooo, gotcha. Didn’t you just visit that place and that’s what set you on this journey, leading us to be sitting in this place?” Artho said. 

“Yep,” Finn said. 

“I don’t want you to go back,” Artho said. 

Finn cocked their head sideways while their ears turned to point at Artho.

“Why?” 

“Because I’m terrified to know where we’ll end up if you go a second time,” Artho said with a grin. 

Finn rolled their eyes and Izzy shook her head when there was a double knock on the door. They all turned and looked at the door and waited. After a brief pause there was a single knock followed by another pause and then a double knock. Oak got to her feet first and went over to the door with a huge grin as she knocked three times before saying, “Who sent you?”

The muffled voice of someone on the other side said, “The mermaid’s daughter sent me.” 

Oak was almost bouncing on her feet when she opened the door and two of Cowrie’s crew came into the small room. One of them had a broken short lizard tail covered in scar tissue and the other was a short woman with her hair caught up in an elaborate tangle of ribbons and string. Oak shut the door as the two women looked around the room. 

“Couldn’t find an open trash heap?” one of them said while the other leaned sideways on the door so she wouldn’t bump the stump of her tail. Finn flinched just a little and almost said that this was way better than an open trash heap but kept their mouth shut. 

“So what’d you find out?” Oak said. 

“Orca came into port the night after we did. We asked around and found out she’s looking for some crew. We found out where and she’s agreed to meet with two of you. It’s in a couple of hours in a tavern dockside. We’re already getting into place,” she said. 

“So you two, come on get up, you’re going with me right now. I’ll show you where to go,” the woman leaning against the door said to Artho and Oak.

Artho grinned at the woman and said, “I’ll go wherever you lead, Agnes.” 

Oak rolled her eyes as she packed away her book and the two grabbed their stuff and left. 

Finn looked back at the remaining woman, named Dar, and said, “This is good. The dockside taverns have a lot of traffic around them and it’s open and well lit in front of them.”

“Oh, you’re thinking of the tourist area. That’s not what we call dockside,” Dar said, trying to keep the derision out of her voice. “I’d be surprised if you’ve seen where we’re going. Do you have anything you can dress in that isn’t… that?” 

Izzy was feeling nervous and fiddled with the short hair beside her ear as Finn said, “It’s what we got. The stuff in the packs isn’t any different.” 

“Well, I guess we’re just going to have to go with it. The person who made contact for us did say you’ve never been to sea so I guess this works,” Dar said, crossing her arms. 

Izzy didn’t want to speak up but took a deep breath and said, “Somethings wrong. What is it?” 

Dar looked at her for a moment before saying, “We had to pass you off as two people who haven’t set foot on a ship but suddenly want to be smugglers. Now, that happens but they don’t normally jump right to Orca. It’s even stranger that she agreed to meet with you because rumor is she prefers experienced crew members. I don’t like it.” 

"Finn, I don't like this either," Izzy said. "Maybe we try something else?"

Dar said, "We're pretty committed but we can still call it off now without too much hassle."

Izzy felt a little war in herself as she fought over the urge not to inconvenience someone, the urge to keep Finn safe, the urge to find out how this all worked, and the urge to keep to their plan. 

“Iz?” Finn said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “If you don’t feel right about this, let me know. I don’t want this to go all weird.” 

Izzy finally said, “You’ve got the place covered?”

Dar nodded as she said, “I won’t go into details but yeah, we do.” 

Izzy finally slipped her satchel over her shoulder and said, “Alright. We’ll go.” 

Dar led them out, telling them the route to take and giving them the short backstory that they had given to Orca for the two. The story was close to what they’d hashed out already but it did have a few changes that Finn did their best to commit to memory, feeling like they were doing a crash rehearsal for a part. When they got out to the common room of the hostel, a few of Cowrie’s crew took their packs and left to go put them on the boat. Izzy hung onto her satchel but had taken out everything but a blank notebook and the data pad. Finn asked, “Isn’t it going to look weird that we don’t have packs?”

“Nope. Remember, you’re in town looking for a crew. Which means you’ve got a place you’d keep stuff in. It’d be weirder if you showed up packed and ready to go,” Dar said at the door to the street. “You go out this door alone. Remember the route?”

Finn and Izzy both nodded, although Finn was already hazy on it but knew they could rely on Izzy.

“We’ve got someone along the way watching over you. Don’t try to spot them though. What are your names?” Dar said. 

“Alvine,” Finn said. 

“Blix,” Izzy said. 

“Backstory?” Dar said. 

Finn said, “We’re running away from a boring life of farming. Our parents want to keep us in the business both of our families have done for generations but we want to do something exciting. We talked with Jaror who told us about this chance.”

“That’s the one. The person you’re meeting from her crew will be wearing a blue and silver silk scarf tied around her left bicep. Tell her you want to talk about the cost of seaweed,” Dar said and then took a deep breath before stepping away from the door. “Good luck.” 

They both nodded and then were out the door and into the street. As they walked along, they both hunched in on themselves a little as they followed the directions they’d been given and were soon in a part of Seaworthy with no lights except what came out of the occasional barred window. When they passed an alley, Izzy tensed up but tried to keep a relaxed pose as Catra had taught her while also looking around into shadows and around corners. Finn could hear faint noises of movement in the alley and fervently hoped it was Cowrie’s crew keeping an eye over them as they walked. 

Soon they were walking along a long road in front of a bunch of old docks. There were a few lights hanging over the entry to each dock and they did nothing besides create little glowing pools of light in the mist hanging over the area. Finn could see the outlines of several ominous looking ships docked at several of them and wondered if it was too late to just turn around and start running. 

“Alvine,” Izzy said and Finn’s theater reflex substituted that name for their name in their head and they responded automatically. 

“What’s up Blix?” they said. 

“That’s the place,” Izzy said, shifting her satchel a little as she nodded at a dimly lit sign that said The Arsonist Mermaid hanging over a door. Finn noticed a figure hanging just out of the light and was pretty sure she had a scarf tied around her arm. Finn began walking towards her and Izzy was right behind them, back straight, eyes looking around. 

“Hey, you ever just think the price of seaweed is too high?” Finn said as they stepped up to the women and saw the blue and silver colors of the scarf. “I mean, it’s right there in the ocean. It shouldn’t be as much as it is.” 

The woman shook her head as she straightened up off the wall and said, “Took you long enough to get here. Come on.” 

Without looking behind her she walked into the tavern with Finn and Izzy following along. As Izzy walked into the dark tavern, she made sure to give the room a good thorough scan. As she looked around, she was pretty sure she spotted a few of Cowrie’s crew already settled in and felt a little more comfortable. Finn was doing the same as they followed Orca’s crew member and their gaze lingered on the people around the bar for a moment before moving on as they felt a moment of relief before the nerves came crashing back in.

The crew member went to a table in the middle of the room and said, “Have a seat. I’ll be right back.” 

Finn thought they should say something but couldn’t bring themself to speak up so they both just sat down as the crew member wandered away and went out a door on the back wall. They both looked around and noticed that the room was decorated with pieces of old ships and each and every one of them were covered in burn marks. Finn, knowing that even though Cowrie’s crew was near and that Artho sat at the controls of the skiff ready to land right outside in minutes and yank them out with Oak’s help if it went bad, couldn’t help but feel utterly alone and scooted their chair a little closer to Izzy.

“All the way to the end, huh, Blix?” Finn said quietly. 

“Don’t worry, we’re not going to see beyond tonight,” Izzy said as gripped Finn’s leg for a moment. Finn looked into Izzy’s terrified eyes but her face was set hard. It wasn’t long after that the crew member came back out of the door and over to the table. 

“Come on you two. She’s ready to see you two,” she said. Finn and Izzy got up and followed her over to the door in the back wall. The crew member went through and Izzy went right behind, her nerves screaming as she left the open room and into a narrow, poorly lit hall that stank of garbage and sweat. They could see a few doors but no noise seemed to enter the hallway from the other side of the doors. Izzy couldn’t help but notice that as soon as the door behind them shut, the noise seemed to cut off from the main bar as well like someone had cut it loose. The crew member kept walking and stopped at a door near the back of the hall and knocked on it in a quick rhythm. After a long pause, there was another knock and the crew member nodded, backed up out of the way.

“Go on in,” she said with a cold smile.

Izzy almost cut and run right there. She figured she could keep the crew member busy enough in the tight hallway to give Finn a chance to make the main room but giving a quick look at the hallway, and the doors between them and the exit, she realized she was in too deep. She stepped forward and opened the door ready to face whatever skeevy room, and its occupants, that were on the other side. 

And as she did, she was utterly surprised to step into a beautifully decorated room with soft mood lighting and a nice wood table with a centerpiece of dried coral. The table had four comfortable chairs and four place settings, two on each side of the table, of stoneware plates. On the walls were several pieces of beautiful artwork that Izzy recognized from various artists. She even noted one of Catra’s original pieces hanging on the wall behind a woman sitting in a loose dark yellow shirt, charcoal pants and matching knee high boots, and a large charcoal colored evening coat. Her jet black hair was pulled back in an elaborate braid and she smiled as she stood. 

“Blix, Alvine, I’m Orca. Please, take your coats off, come in, have a seat,” she said as she gestured at the two chairs opposite where she sat and Izzy couldn’t help but notice of the two doors in the room, one was behind them right now and the other would be behind the chairs where Orca had just indicated that they sit. The crew member took their coats and hung them on a coat rack by the door. Orca looked at her and gave a short nod and she stepped out. 

Finn stepped forward, an award winning smile on their face, as they said, “Thank you for meeting us, Captain Orca. We really hope we can make an arrangement tonight. I’m...” 

“Oh, I know, your name Alvine. And of course, Blix. I don’t just meet with anyone but your story caught my ear,” Orca said. 

Izzy stepped up beside Finn and fought the urge to fiddle with her hair as Finn said, “I’m glad you did. We really want to get out of the whole farming thing and we’re willing to learn and fast too.” 

“You do seem like fast learners,” Orca said with a wide grin. “Have a seat though. Blix looks pretty uncomfortable and could probably do to relax a bit.” 

The two sat down and Izzy noticed that while there were plates, there wasn’t any silverware or glasses except for one large wine glass that sat in front of Orca full of water and ice. 

“You really think you can cut it at this game?” Orca said as she sat down. 

“I think we’ll do quite well,” Finn said. “We’re motivated.” 

“You must be, Alvine, trying to apply to my crew,” Orca said. “Even my cabin girl has served on other crews before. I don’t take on newbies.” 

Izzy did her best not to grip the side of the table and Finn could feel the tension in their gut ratchet up but kept the smile on as they said, “Maybe we can ask you a few questions and answer a few ourselves? Show you what we’re about?”

“I’d like that; I truly would. First though, may I say that's a clever little device you have hidden under your shirt there, Finn," Orca said as she casually picked up her glass and took a drink.

Finn tried not to flinch and check to be sure the beacon was still around their neck. Then their eyes widened as they realized she'd said Finn.

"If you're thinking of using it, there's no point. Reason we're in this room after all. It's damped against tech and magic. I know who you all are after all. You think I’d meet with some runaway farmers without asking some questions? And then still go ahead and meet with the child of princesses without taking some kind of precautions?" Orca said as she set the glass back down, the ice tinkling in the silence of the room. "Now, you put a lot of effort into getting a meeting with me so I want to know, why?"

Izzy started to get to her feet and Orca, without taking their eyes off Finn, casually pulled a curved dagger out of her coat. 

“Honey, you move like someone who knows how to be violent but you’re forcing it; you’re not moving like someone who has it deep in their bones. I know you’re unarmed, and really, it is such a nice room. Do we really want to mess it up?” Orca said as she laid the dagger on the table and met Izzy’s eyes. Izzy sat back down and Orca nodded as she slipped the dagger back out of sight. 

Finn took a deep breath and said, “Since you know who I am, you probably know why I’m here.”

“I don’t actually. I  _ think _ I know why you’re here but maybe it’s not the same reason I think it is and I really want to hear it from you,” Orca said. “Like I said, I’m being careful here. You’ve set up layers of protection and this is part of my layers of protection.” 

“What if I said I want to hear you say it?” Finn said. 

“Then I stand up, leave, and make it incredibly difficult to be found again,” Orca said. “Come on, Finn, you were much more agreeable as a small child.”

Finn said, “That. That’s why I’m here. You knew me as a young child and you’re possibly the next link along the chain to finding my biological parents. I want to know where you found me or got me from. I’m not here for whatever else you’re doing.” 

Orca leaned forward and tapped the table idly with her knuckles as she looked at Finn before she shrugged and said, “Why do you assume I know?” 

“I don’t,” Finn said. “That’s why I’m here.” 

“And what do you do if I don’t know?” Orca said. 

“Leave. Try something else and keep trying,” Finn said. 

“From what I’ve heard of your little journey I believe it,” Orca said. “Very well. I don’t know your biological parents.”

Finn waited a second before saying, “And?” 

“Why do you think there’s more? Yes, you were on my ship at one point but why do you think I personally know every little detail of what my crew does? I like to run a friendly ship. Crew do their own thing and as long as the main job gets done and there aren’t any hassles, I don’t care. Guess it’s a dead end with me. Sorry,” Orca said with a playfully cruel smile. 

Finn blinked once before getting to their feet. They leaned forward and put their hands on the table as they pleadingly said, “Stop playing games, please, I’m getting it from everyone and it’s old. There’s no way you didn’t ask about having a little kid running around on your ship. Why won’t you tell me what I want to know? What do you want?”

Orca reached across the table and grabbed one of Finn’s wrists. There was the sound of a chair hitting the floor as Izzy grabbed Orca’s wrist with one hand and held up one of the stoneware plates in her other.

“Let go. Now,” she said.

“Do you have any idea how many people fear me and for good reason?” Orca said, staring Izzy in the eye.

“I’m one of them but you’re not going to hurt them. Let go,” Izzy said, staring right back.

There was a long tense moment before Orca made a show of letting go. Izzy let go and Orca sat back into their chair as Izzy nodded and sat the plate back on the table. Finn sat back down and got Izzy’s chair back on its feet and she finally sat down. There was a moment of silence before Orca said, “You’re right of course. Sure, some things I don’t pay attention to but a toddler showing up on the ship I do wonder about. Which of course means that yes, I know who brought you on board.”

“Are they still with your crew?” Finn said, leaning forward again. 

“No, he left before you did actually. Some people took you off the ship later and then when She-Ra, Catra, and the others came poking around, I quietly found out where he’d ended up just in case I needed an ace in the hole,” Orca said. “When I heard you were poking around, I double checked to see if he was still there and wouldn’t you know it? He’s still there.” 

“And?” Finn said.

“And what? He’s a former crewmember and one I’m not real happy with for all the heat he’s brought down on me, multiple times now I might add, but what makes you think I’m going to turn him over to you?” Orca said.

“Because it’s the right thing to do?” Finn said. 

Orca looked at them for a moment before bursting out in laughter. 

“You’re funny, I’ll give you that! Kid, I grew up dodging the Horde, survived the occupation of Salineas  _ twice _ , and then survived in my profession for a long time. There is no right. There’s just what’s right for me,” Orca said. 

“You want money in other words,” Izzy said. 

“You wound me, Izzy! Money I have. In fact, it’s a bit of a problem because it’s getting difficult to store,” Orca said. “Information. I want information. The right piece of information could be priceless beyond measure.” 

“We’re teenagers. What could we possibly know that you would consider worthwhile?” Finn said. 

“Well, I could say more who could you possibly know that would make it worthwhile. More specifically, what you know about them,” Orca said, an evil grin growing across her face.

Finn stood up immediately, Izzy standing with them, as Finn’s stomach clenched into knots as they thought of what Orca was implying and said, “I guess I’m looking elsewhere then. I’m ready to leave now.” 

“I’m not ready to let you leave and before you go for the place settings again,” Orca said looking at Izzy as she tensed, “at least hear me out.”

Finn kept standing and waited. 

“Are you going to sit?” Orca said. 

“No,” Finn said. 

Orca shrugged as she said, “Very well. I’m not going to ask you to betray your own mothers so you can get that affronted look off your face. I want to know something about Sea Hawk.” 

Finn took a deep breath and waited as Izzy scooted a little closer to them. 

“Are you going to ask…,” Orca started when Finn cut them off. 

“I said I was tired of the games. I’m not kidding. What is it you want to know so we can hurry to the point where I tell you no?” Finn said. 

Orca grinned as she said, “How solid is his relationship with Mermista?” 

Finn said, “Excuse me?” 

“I said what I said. I know you can’t know for sure but in your own opinion of course,” Orca said as she waved her hand and picked up her glass for a sip. 

Finn thought of three different horrible reasons why Orca would want to know such a thing. Izzy thought of several herself as Orca sat and waited. 

“That didn’t take long at least. No, I won’t tell you,” Finn said.

“What if I said that it’s not for business?” Orca said. 

“What would it be for if not for… ooooooooo,” Izzy suddenly said. 

Finn snorted as they said, “Are you trying to tell me you want to date Sea Hawk?” 

“No! He’s most certainly not my type but I have a crew member who has a huge crush on him and I’ve been trying to tell him that it’s not going to happen but I figured if I could get that from you then he’d believe it,” Orca said. 

The door behind them opened causing Izzy and Finn to jump apart as a guy that looked like a mobile wall squeezed through it and said in a deep rumbling voice, “You didn’t have to tell them that, Captain. That’s private.” 

“And I don’t want to hear it every time we go to the pub together and you go on and on about his dreamy eyes and smile and how amazing his shanties are but here we are now aren’t we?” Orca shot back. 

Finn looked back and forth between the two, gauging them to see if they were acting, and saw tears forming in the big guy’s eyes. Finn sighed and walked over to him. 

“Hey, um, yeah, I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re a great guy but it’s not going to happen,” Finn said. 

The guy started nodding his head quickly, wiping at his eyes as he said, “I guess I should have known but I just kind of hoped I had a chance.” 

The tears were coming down the guys face faster than he could wipe them away as Finn, amazed as the words came out of their mouth, said, “Do you need a hug?” 

The guy nodded and Finn stepped up to him, their arms barely reaching around the sides of him. The guy hugged them back and Finn felt like they were being squeezed by a vice all over their body for a moment before he let them go. 

“Thanks, I needed that,” the guy said as they took a deep breath. “And thanks for this, Captain.”

The guy left as Orca shook her head as she said, “Well, that wasn’t quite how I imagined that playing out but so be it. You’re looking for a person named Ridor. He lives in the Crimson Waste and hangs out at a bar there in The Valley of the Lost. Bar doesn’t have a name but it’s off some little square with a fountain in the middle. Feline, brown and blonde stripes, lanky, and most importantly for you I imagine, doesn’t know you’re coming and I’m not going to tell them.”

“You could have just told me that instead of this whole song and dance,” Finn said before suddenly realizing what Orca had said. “Wait… you said feline. Is he… is he my biological father?” 

Orca looked at them and gave a grin for a moment before saying, “I should make you give me more information first but I’m feeling generous. No, he’s not. I asked him that when he came on board and he said that he was taking care of you for your mother though.” 

Finn was frozen in their seat. This Ridor person knew their bio mother at one point. Might even still know her. They could be only a step away from finding out what had happened. Izzy set a hand on Finn’s shoulder and squeezed it. 

“I believe that is what you were looking for?” Orca said then went on without waiting for an answer. “Then enough staring off into space. I have other things to do after all.” 

Izzy looked at her right in the eyes and said the first thing that jumped into her mind.

“I don’t like you.” 

“That’s fine, you don’t have to but it is a shame the two of us didn’t get to dance. You would have learned a few new tricks and you would probably have healed up just fine after a few weeks,” Orca said. 

Izzy tensed up as Orca stepped to the door they’d come in through and rapped once, paused, once again, and then twice. Orca looked back at her and said, “We’re leaving, you can relax. I swear the reputation isn’t worth it sometimes but then I think of how much fun I get to have and realize, yes, it absolutely is.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not many more chapters left! I was a bit melancholy when I wrote the ending a little while back but now, I'm excited to get it all out for everyone to see.


	29. Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team prepares to leave Seaworthy and move on towards The Crimson Waste with their new found information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall we?

Finn sat on a stool at the bar, listening to the singing as the two crews tried to outdo each other on volume if not necessarily talent. There were a few more lights on now so the room wasn’t so dark and gloomy and Finn could see Artho and Oak with Cowrie’s crew singing right along, Artho with her arm around one of the crew members and grinning at her as they sang. They’d been sitting on the stool for a while now as they thought about the revelation they’d just had from Orca.

When they’d come out of the room the place had been a full blown brawl and Finn would have marveled at how they all hadn’t heard it in the room if they weren’t too busy ducking. Orca had snagged a flying bottle out of the air as soon as she stepped out the door and then laughed as she’d stepped into the midst of the fighting taking a swig from the bottle. Finn had watched in amazement as the crowd parted around her and let her pass. It was then that Finn began to realize that it was more for fun, even though people were getting hit and hit hard, then for anything serious. Catching sight of Cowrie on top of a table with a saber dueling someone while laughing felt like a confirmation. 

Izzy was on one side of Finn at the bar, still trying to calm down after the surprise coming out the door as well as the uncomfortable walk back out as she’d waited for some catch, and on the other side of Finn was a small woman wrapped in a heavy coat who seemed to be a fixture of the bar. She was finishing off her mug at the same time the bartender was arriving to replace it with another. They waited until she had the drink to say, “How’re you doing, Auncle?”

The woman looked at Finn in confusion as Finn smiled at her. 

“Not you, ma’am,” Finn said as they turned around to look at the bartender. “You.” 

The bartender looked confused as well as they said, “Not your auncle, kid, don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Finn just stared hard for a moment before saying, “Yes you do.” 

The bartender gave a sudden toothy smile while their eyes flashed yellow for a moment before settling back to the brown they had been. 

“You have to tell me how you do that, darling,” the bartender said in Double Trouble’s voice. “You’re the only one who can do it consistently.” 

“No, I don’t think I will. Keep you on your toes,” Finn said. Double Trouble laughed but kept their current shape as they wiped the counter. 

“Izzy, this is my Auncle Double Trouble although not in their usual form,” Finn said, looking at Izzy for a moment before turning back to Double Trouble. “I’m guessing Mother got you to do this? Keep an eye on us?” 

“You wound me! You know I never reveal an employer unless it’s for more than they paid me and I don’t see any coin, dear,” Double Trouble said. 

“Can I afford to pay you more than she did?” Finn said. 

“Probably,” Double Trouble said. 

“Then I won’t bother since you just confirmed it by saying she paid you. That and you always give her a steep discount,” Finn said. 

Double Trouble looked at Finn for a moment before flashing the toothy grin again. 

“Well played but I didn’t confirm it, dear. And Kitten gets the discount because she always has the most interesting little projects,” they said. 

“Doesn’t matter, I’m sure enough. Besides, I can just ask her,” Finn said. “So were you supposed to just grab me and try to haul me out or what?” 

“I have many secrets and that is one of them. Now I think it’s time to move along before you get more inquisitive, my little nibbling. Have fun; do stuff that’ll freak your moms out,” Double Trouble said with another toothy grin as they made their way over to someone at the other end of the bar. 

Finn turned back around as Izzy said, “Shapeshifter?”

“Shapeshifter. Watching them since I was a kid is one way I knew that Blu wasn’t you. I should probably thank them for getting me used to that,” Finn said. “You’ve probably seen them before but not known it. They show up to some of our plays but never as their default form.” 

“As long as they don’t imitate me,” Izzy said with a suspicious look at Double Trouble at the other end of the bar setting up a drink tray. “Are you doing ok?”

“I am. It doesn’t feel real right now. I mean, look at this,” Finn said, making a small gesture towards the crowd who were cheering each other. “Just a few hours ago we were freaked out, worried about how it could all go wrong, and now we’re watching a singing confrontation.”

“You mean competition?” Izzy said.

“Nope,” Finn said as they watched one of Orca’s crew throw a chair at one of Cowrie’s crew as they both sang at the top of their lungs.

Then they both saw Oak climb up on a wobbly table, grab an overhead beam, and shout out, “To The Team, to the memories, and for Grayskull!” before leaping backwards into the air. 

The whole crowd hoisted their drinks and screamed their approval as one Cowrie’s crew caught Oak in her arms, sat her back on her feet, and then for a brief moment the two looked at each other before coming together in a huge kiss that sent the screaming approval even higher. Finn could hear Artho screaming out the loudest, “My sister! To my sister!” 

“We’re not leaving any time soon are we?” Izzy said, shaking her head and fiddling with the strap on her satchel. 

“We are not,” Finn said. “I wonder if that room Orca had set up is still available. Maybe we can hide in there until this is done.” 

Later, in the early morning hours, the crowd drained out of the bar and The Team ended up sitting at a table at the tourist dock watching the early morning food vendors start to set up. Finn had their head tucked into Izzy’s shoulder as they sat and Oak was stretched out on the table humming to herself as Artho had her head down on the table. 

“So what’s going to happen with you and your love interest?” Artho said to Oak, propping her head up on her arms.

Oak gave a huge grin as she said, “Sadly, it is not to be. She to the sea, me to the adventure. We shall have this one perfect night though and what more could one ask for?”

“I still can’t believe you jumped backwards off the table,” Izzy said. “I should have freaked out but I think I was too shocked.” 

“I can’t believe she did it either but dang if I wasn’t impressed,” Artho said.

Oak laughed and said, “It would have been a lot less impressive if I’d slammed into the floor but it didn’t happen. I should probably leave that part out when I tell Mom and Mom about it.” 

“Best of luck,” Finn said. “Turns out Auncle DT was there tonight working for Mother to keep an eye on us. They’ll probably know by mid-morning.” 

Oak looked over at Finn before laughing even harder.

They ended up eating breakfast at the table as they gave each more details on the night before and planned out what to do next. They were due back at the ship by the evening to discuss the next step with Cowrie but otherwise they were open. So it was that the four were walking up a road, Finn knowing the way by heart. Soon they were standing outside the Crab Corner’s Community Center. Finn pointed out the bench nearby and then led them down the alley. It hadn’t changed much since the last time when they’d sat in silence thinking of the past and Izzy, just a bit colder and a bit cleaner, and Finn quietly pointed out where they’d slept and where they’d first met their moms before they all stood in silence for a moment. Izzy reached over and put her arm around Finn and gave them a hug which led Oak to do the same and finally Artho wrapped them all up. 

When they left, Finn went into the community center and introduced everyone to Claire. The inside was completely different then Finn remembered since it now occupied the entire building and the walls had been knocked out. The old bar still stood and Claire worked behind it helping anyone who asked, a picture of Bruell, the old bartender who’d started the whole center with Claire after Catra gave him a change of heart, hanging on the wall. People were milling around, eating, talking, and the part that made Finn smile was seeing kids running around playing. 

They stayed a little while, feeling tired from being up all night, and had lunch there before saying good-bye and promising to visit again soon. Finally, in mid-afternoon, they made it back to the ship and collapsed into their hammocks. The whole ship was quiet and Izzy took a moment to make a few notes before they were all out for a few hours. That evening when they got up to the sounds of the crew starting to move around they found Cowrie in her cabin yawning as she shot back a steaming cup of tea. On the desk sat an enormous floral arrangement.

“You live,” she said, as she filled up her cup again and took a sip. 

“We live,” Artho said as everyone settled down into chairs. 

“And you? Going to be fraternizing with any more of my crew or was Chitin just a special occasion?” Cowrie said, looking at Oak. 

“I’m not ruling out the chance,” Oak said with a grin as Cowrie shook her head. “Although Chitin certainly was special.” 

Finn nodded at the flowers as they said, “Secret admirer?”

“Oh, it’s no secret,” Cowrie said. “Those showed up mid-day. They’re from Orca. Card said she’s not had that much fun in a long time and if we ever try and trick her like that again she’ll find us and sink us.” 

“I see where her reputation comes from,” Oak said. 

“You wouldn’t have to say that if you’d been in that room,” Izzy said with a frown. 

“You didn’t say much about it except what you found out,” Artho said. “I’m glad you got out all right.” 

Finn felt a huge grin spread across their face as they said, “Izzy threatened her.”

Cowrie paused with her cup halfway to her mouth as she said, “Excuse me? I’ve known Finn a long time so it’s possible, probable even, that they’re joking. Please tell me they are.” 

“I didn’t threaten her. I just told her she wasn’t going to hurt Finn,” Izzy said, looking down and fiddling with a little tuft of hair next to her ear. 

“I had stood up, had my hands on the table and Orca grabbed my wrist. Then Izzy grabbed hers, grabbed a heavy plate, and had it cocked back to hit her,” Finn said. “I’ll remember Izzy saying, ‘Let go. Now,’ for the rest of my life.” 

Cowrie set her head down on her desk, her cup still held up in the air, as she said, “When are you four getting off my ship?” 

“Says the woman who was on top of a table with a saber when we walked out,” Finn said. 

“That’s different,” Cowrie said, looking up to give Finn a flat look while cocking up one eyebrow.

“I’d ask but I know better. To answer your question, that’s why we’re here,” Finn said. “Our next stop is The Valley of the Lost.” 

“Can I be there when you tell your moms that’s where you’re going? No, you know what? You don’t get a choice. I’m going to be there. With popcorn,” Cowrie said with a grin. 

“Remember, you thought she was going to flip last time,” Finn said. 

“That was you missing a call. This is entirely different,” Cowrie said. “This will be hysterical.” 

“I’m sure they’ll be fine. Well, they’ll probably have a million questions, but I think it’ll be fine,” Finn said. “The question is, will you give us a lift closer?” 

“Yeah, I can set you down near Bright Moon. There’s a harbor up the coast from there and you can fly out from there if you want. Just for reference, enjoy the ride, I will not be offering my services again,” Cowrie said. 

“But think of the stories!” Oak said. 

“Think of the sinkings!” Cowrie shot back. “I know you’d think losing a ship would be a family thing but I am assuredly not my parents in that regard.” 

“I can’t promise we won’t ask again but hopefully I’ve almost got the last piece. Orca told me this person we’re looking for was taking care of me for my biological mother,” Finn said. “It could be we’re almost there.” 

It was the first that Cowrie had heard this and she sat the cup down and folded her hands in front of her as she looked at Finn. Finn could see why she commanded a ship, even at the age she was, and why her crew were loyal to her in the even look she gave before talking.

“I hope it is. I hope you get what you’re after, Finn,” Cowrie said. “And if you do really need me, I’ll be there.” 

Oak gave a big grin and Cowrie rolled her eyes. 

“Maybe not for you, but for Finn, yes,” Cowrie said. 

After they left her cabin, The Team spent the rest of the evening making sure the skiff was loaded, they had everything they needed, and then went to sleep as the ship set sail late that night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say except that this chapter and the last one has some of my favorite banter in it.


	30. To Strive, To Seek, To Find, and Not To Yield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team is following what they hope is the final lead, the lead that will take them to someone or at least give final answers, as they head into the Crimson Waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everyone who came along on this trip with me. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. 
> 
> Shall we?

Finn called as they arrived at the port to let their moms know the next step and what had happened. Finn was expecting some push back but all Catra had said was, “Be very careful, it’s not just the people that’s dangerous out there. You may want to speak with Huntara.”

“Ok,” Finn said. “By the way, I’m sure Auncle DT would say hello if they’d admitted that you’d hired them.”

Catra sighed as Adora laughed behind her. 

“I should have known you’d spot them. I wish I knew how you did that,” Catra said. 

“Talent,” Finn said with a smile. 

“Well Mx. Talent,” Adora said, putting her head over Catra’s shoulder, “use that discerning eye to watch out for trouble. You’ve heard our stories about the Waste. Assume we toned them down for your young ears at the time, which we did, and be careful.” 

“I will, Mom. I’ll try and keep you updated more frequently,” Finn said before they said their good-byes and signed off. Izzy and Oak were sitting together, going over the maps they’d just picked up for the trip into the Crimson Waste as Artho went over the skiff in detail to make sure everything was operating well. 

“Before we leave, we gotta call Mom and Mom,” Artho said as she sat down on the edge of the skiff, looking down at the other three. “Gotta be sure and let them know of their daughter’s new infatuation after all.” 

Oak shot her sister a look as she said, “Just because Chitin came to say good-bye when we left doesn’t mean it’s a thing.” 

All three of them looked at the small ornate dagger tucked hilt down under Oak’s left arm that Chitin had given her when they left. Oak blushed and pulled her coat closed over it.

“Mmmmm, ok,” Artho said with a smug grin. Izzy shook her head and gave Oak a little squeeze on the shoulder.

“Let’s talk about the route. We’ll come in to the Crimson Waste here,” she said, pointing at a spot on the far side of the map and then started tracing a rambling line inwards. “We’ll camp on the way and set down just outside the valley. Artho, be sure and do whatever it is you said you’d do to make sure the skiff is still there when we get back. Then, I guess we go in and see if Ridor is there.” 

Silence hung in the air as they all looked at Izzy before Finn finally broke it. 

“Is that it?” Finn says. Izzy nods as she folds up the map.

“I gotta be honest,” Artho said. “I was expecting more.” 

Izzy said, “There isn’t much more really. We really haven’t touched our supplies so we don’t need to top off, all our gear we’ve stowed should suffice, and we have the travel and daily routine down. The hard part is getting into the valley and back out. I’m worried but at this point, that’s just the daily routine as well. There’s not much else to say.”

Finn snorted as they nodded their head and Oak said, “That’s true, we’ve got this. It’s what we do. Well, be strong, be brave, we know the routine. Let’s fly!” 

The day they approached The Valley of the Lost, Finn watched as they flew over the crater where Mara’s ship had crashed. They thought about their moms and how they’d been through the area they were in now years before on their own quests and missions and by the time they landed in a secluded spot near the valley Finn was in a fully introspective frame of mind. Even though it was the beginning of winter, it was still fairly warm.

“I say we go in now,” Oak said after they’d landed. “If he hangs out at this place, then chances are good he’s already there.” 

“Good idea,” Artho said. “I’d really rather not be running around there after dark too if we can avoid it.” 

“Should we call Princess Huntara?” Izzy said. “I know Catra said we should. Finn, what do you think?” 

Finn sat on the edge of the skiff, looking out into the red sands of the desert at a large bird flying across the sky with its long tail pointing behind it like some portent Finn couldn’t quite figure out. After Izzy didn’t get a response she looked at the other two who shrugged and she knelt down next to Finn. 

“Finn? I’m checking in with you,” Izzy said quietly.

Finn looked at her with a little smile, thinking of all the times someone had said that to them over their life, and said, “Sorry. I’m ok. Just, I don’t know. What did you ask?” 

“Should we call Huntara?” Artho said. 

“You could but why not just talk to me right now?” a voice boomed out from behind them. The four turned to face the scrub brush and rocks behind them as Huntara came striding out from behind it. 

“How in the world did you get here!?” Oak said. 

“Heard from Flower Girl you all were headed this way, figured out what would be the most obvious place for someone not familiar with the Waste to land and hide and then waited,” Huntara said, a fierce grin on her face. “Whatta know? I was right.” 

“Maybe we knew that was what you would do and just wanted to make it easy on you in your old age, Aunt,” Artho said.

“Phffft, come over here, I’ll show you old age. I can still toss you in the air with no problems. No promises I’ll catch you this time though,” Huntara said. 

“Aunt Huntara, I hope you’re not planning on going with us,” Finn said, their ears twitching in irritation. “If you didn’t hear, the whole point of us doing this alone is…”

“Because people know all of us,” Huntara said. “Yeah, Blondie mentioned it. No, I’m not going to follow you but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t give you a little surprise first.” 

Finn relaxed a little as they said, “Alright. Sorry to get snippy.” 

“Don’t apologize! You have every right to tell me to back off! Come on, show some spine or someone else will show yours to you around here,” Huntara said before nodding at Izzy. “Like her. She’s not that big but she’s sure got a look going at me right now.”

Izzy hadn’t realized she’d been staring hard at Huntara until then but looked away and cleared her throat once it was pointed out. 

“What do you need from me?” Huntara said as she looked at the base of a stone before leaning against it. 

“Advice, I guess,” Oak said. 

“Trust no one, watch each other’s back, and if you’re going to cause damage, go for the largest amount,” Huntara said, ticking each point off on her finger. 

“I would have thought you’d say try to minimize it,” Artho said. 

“Naw, what’s the point? Besides, if it’s mostly destroyed, it’s easier just to bulldoze and start over,” she said. 

Izzy gave a little snorting laugh and Huntara grinned at her. 

“There you go, girlie. I was wondering if you were stone or not,” Huntara said. “I’d say holler for me if you need me but let’s be honest, you’re a tough crew, you’ll manage.”

Finn couldn’t tell if she was serious or just teasing them but didn’t want to say anything. They chatted a little longer before Huntara said good-bye and disappeared back into the brush. As the rest packed a few things and got ready to leave, Artho rummaged around in the engine compartment and hid a few small parts in her pocket. Finally, they walked into the valley. 

Finn had half been expecting rolling fist fights in the dirt as soon as they stepped into town and shady characters trying to sell them stuff from dark alleys but what they saw were just ramshackle buildings, people with stuff set up for sale here and there in front of their homes, and dust everywhere. Everyone had a hard look on their face and there wasn’t a lot of talking going on but no one bothered them as they walked through. Most didn’t even look at them but those that did just gave them a once over and went on about their day. 

“Does it just kind of feel… I don’t know… almost normal?” Oak whispered. 

“It does and after everything I’ve heard about this place, that worries me,” Finn said back. 

Izzy had been looking around since they’d come into town and said, “I know I’d read the town had calmed down a bit from the war, especially since more people are aware it exists, but still, I’m with Finn. Normal is usually when it all goes south for us.”

Artho, striding along flicking her tail back and forth, said, “I’ll be honest, the dry air really agrees with me and why are we looking to borrow trouble? Let trouble find us, we don’t have to go looking.” 

Finn raised an eyebrow at her, their ears laying back a little as they said, “And it always does.” 

They stopped at a small stand selling fruit and iced drinks to get directions. Izzy overheard two people talking quietly as Finn talked to the vendor and got the directions. 

“Yeah, guy thought he was going to be the next princess of Dryl and went after Entrapta’s Prize,” a little fox person said.

“What happened?” a person covered head to toe in fabric with no skin showing replied. 

“He got lost for four days inside, almost died of thirst, but did claim he solved one of the puzzles,” the fox person said. “No one knows if he’s full of it or not and he said there’s no way he’s going to try again. Said it’s probably impossible.”

Izzy wanted to ask a few questions herself but put it out of her mind for the moment. Soon they were walking into a large open square with huge fabric awnings over the whole thing, gently flapping in the breeze flowing through the valley. Little scurrying things ran across the dust and around the base of a dry fountain. Finn could see their destination on the other side, no door, no sign, just a curtain hanging halfway down.

Later, when each of them would talk about walking in, they’d each tell it a bit different. Oak talked about how they all strode through the curtain, confident and ready for whatever was on the other side. Artho would talk about walking through and noticing how quiet the room was compared to the other places like it they’d been. Izzy would say she noticed the slightly cooler air flowing out, a testament to clever high ceilings and wind traps. 

Finn though, they would always remember the scent of dust hanging in the air, the filtered light coming down from the high ceiling, and a hunched shape sitting at the bar with notched ears and scraggly fur with brown and blonde stripes. He had on ragged sandals made from old tires and rope and had on short ragged cargo pants cut off just below the knee that may have been some color of dark green but had faded out to almost gray. A faded yellow multi-pocketed vest was the only other thing they wore and he didn’t even bother to look up as the four came in and quietly sat down at a table near the door. 

The bartender looked up for a moment from where they leaned in the corner of the bar, carefully working with a small knife as they carved the top of a tap handle into the shape of some desert creature, before looking back down. Aside from Ridor, one other person sat at a table back in the corner, their long scaly tail balancing them as they leaned back in the chair half-asleep. The other three looked at Finn, wondering what to do. Finn looked at Izzy who looked around and then reached forward to squeeze their hand. 

Finn took their coat off and hung it on the chair. As they walked over, their boots softly thumped on the packed earth of the floor. They sat down a few stools over from who they were sure was Ridor. The bartender looked up but didn’t make any move to hurry over as Finn looked over at Ridor and saw his hands holding the mug in front of them. There were only a few patches of fur on them, the rest were scar tissue.

“Excuse me,” Finn said, clearing their throat. “I’m looking for someone named Ridor. I think you’re him.”

“Go away,” he said, his voice a low monotone and his face blank.

“No, I’ve come too far, you fit the description I have, and I need to talk to you, just for a little bit,” Finn said, trying to keep their voice steady. “It’s important.” 

Ridor turned his face finally towards Finn, three long, wide scars leading back from just above his eyes and over his head, as he gave a long look up and down Finn before saying, “Bright Moon. You’re soft, kid. Go away before you get hurt out here.”

“You’re not denying you’re who I think you are so I know you’re him,” Finn said. “Ridor, I’m not leaving until we talk.” 

“Who even gave you this description? Some little twit in Bright Moon? Sitting all fancy in some castle?” Ridor said, his voice still a monotone as he turned back to contemplation of his mug.

Finn took a deep breath before saying, “No. I got it from someone in Seaworthy.” 

Ridor turned, his face still neutral but his eyes were haunted now.

“Who in Seaworthy?” Ridor said. 

Finn didn’t want to say. Instead they said, “It doesn’t matter. I’m not here for violence if that makes you feel any better.”

Ridor sat his mug on the bar and pushed it back and forth between his hands as he said, “It doesn’t. What do you want?”

“My name’s Finn. I think you left me on the Orca’s Fantastic Adventure when I was a little kid. I’m trying to track down my biological parents now and I was told you knew my bio mother,” Finn said. 

Ridor looked at them, his whole face going tired, as he said, “I thought you might be little Finnegan. You changed.” 

“Yeah, I grew up,” Finn said shortly. 

“Not what I meant,” Ridor said. “Yeah, I know your mother.” 

Finn felt uncomfortable with him using that word, because Finn knew they didn’t know Catra, but didn’t correct him as they said, “Know? Can you tell me where she is or what’s her name?”

“Lives that way,” Ridor said, nodding vaguely towards the wall. “Names Elliepurr.”

“More specifically? Please?” Finn said and Ridor gave them some rough directions. 

“That should get you there but I haven’t seen her in a long time. For all I know, she’s not there anymore,” Ridor said. 

“Why?” Finn said, after pausing. 

“Got no reason to,” Ridor said, shrugging as his face went back to the neutral expression it’d worn when Finn had first seen it. 

“That’s not what I meant,” Finn said. 

“Yeah, I know,” Ridor sighed as he looked back at them, his face going sad as he said, “Why not?” 

“That’s not good enough,” Finn said, gently. “I want to know why you took me from her and then left me on the ship.” 

Ridor gave a mirthless smile that flashed across his face before disappearing as he said, “Or what? What are you going to threaten me with? What are you going to promise me? I got nothing, I want nothing, I am nothing. Go away.” 

“Why not tell me? What could it hurt?” Finn said. 

“Same answer as before. Why not, remember?” Ridor said. 

Finn was about to say something else when they felt Izzy’s hand on their shoulder and Ridor looked up at her standing behind Finn. Finn turned around to see her, Artho, and Oak right behind them with worried looks. Finn turned back in time to see a wave of sorrow so deep it felt like it had its own gravity go across Ridor’s face and then he turned his back on Finn. 

“Go away, Finnegan. Don’t come back. Please,” Ridor said, almost pleading, as the please came out so quiet it was nothing more than the whisper of a breeze in the quiet room.

“I… I’m sorry. Really. I’m just…,” Finn said, trailing off, not sure what they were going to say as their hand reached up briefly in comfort before coming back down without touching him as they turned and left.

That night, as the temperature plunged, Finn sat on the skiff staring at the stars. Meteors streaked across the sky as they said, “I can’t even begin to describe it. I’ve never seen anyone that sad before.” 

Artho, leaning against the skiff on the ground, said, “I’m surprised you didn’t notice. Their body language looked like someone about to fall apart. I’d say probably already has fallen apart” 

“I was too into trying to find out what I wanted to know I guess,” Finn said. They felt guilty about it as Izzy slowly scratched behind their ear. 

Izzy softly said, “Hey, whatever he did, for whatever reason, and how he’s feeling about it… that’s not on you.” 

“I know,” Finn said. “It’s just…”

Finn went silent and Oak filled it in by saying, “Yep, we get it.”

“What do I do?” Finn said. 

“That last day at Frosta’s when we were about to leave and Emma came out, you said, ‘You can just wave and leave. Or just leave.’ It wasn’t right then to just leave I think but now…, Finn, I think you need to just leave,” Izzy said. 

Finn started to say something and realized that they weren’t even sure where to begin. They looked back up at the stars for a moment before saying, “Then I will. We’ll fly out in the morning then, see if we can’t find her.”

Finn thought they wouldn’t sleep that night. When they crawled under the tarp Oak had sat up as a lean-to off of the skiff and into their cot and sleeping bag though, they were asleep in minutes, exhaustion falling like a hammer. They woke the next morning, shook their boots out to be surprised by a few big bugs falling out of them, and soon everything was packed away. The wind was up and dust flew in the air as they got goggles on and wrapped up cloth over their faces, Izzy wrapping her scarf around her face and putting on a new felt hat Grandma had sent along that let her horns out, before climbing on and flying off. It took most of the day, but as they got close, Artho brought the skiff low and landed back from the edge of a cliff that overlooked a wide valley. 

“Why are we landing out here?” Finn said. 

“Remember what you said about landing a skiff in someone’s front yard?” Artho said. “You think that’ll be even more so out here?” 

Finn, their stomach clenching as they picked up their pack, said, “Good point. Let’s go I guess.”

It was a short walk to the edge of the cliff and it wasn’t long before they were looking over at a small house. The wind whipped sand against them as Izzy checked the area with binoculars. A thin line of smoke drifted out of the chimney of the house sitting in a small grove of bare trees nestled around the only known water for kilometers in any direction. Two old Horde skiffs, one in pieces, sat in front of the house.

Izzy said, “Blue door with a green design on it. That should be the place.”

Oak, standing next to Finn, looked at the map in her hand and said, “It does match up with what we were told.” 

Artho, squatted down next to Izzy, said, “Even if it doesn’t, it’s not like there’s anything else out here.”

“Now what?” Finn said. 

Izzy stood up and tucked the binoculars away in the case strapped to her hip as she took Finn’s hand. Finn tried to see her eyes through the goggles she wore but the tinted glass hid them away and the scarf hid her face.

“Well, I think we go down there and see if that’s your biological mother in there or not,” Izzy said, squeezing Finn’s hand. Finn looked down, wondering just what they were about to find. 

“Is this the last step?” Finn whispered but the wind took the words so only they and the wind heard them. They blinked at sudden tears in their eyes but they couldn’t say why. Finn nodded in response to Izzy and they all started walking and soon the four had found a way down the cliff and were making their way across the valley floor towards the house. A collapsing waist high fence went around the edge of the trees and on a post that used to hold a gate a homemade sign painted on nailed together wooden slats said, “Leave coins for water in tin by spring.” 

They all stood and looked over the front yard as a few creatures peaked out from under rocks or around a cactus patch. 

“Should we hang back, Finn?” Oak said quietly. 

“Probably. No reason to repeat Dava all over,” Finn said and Izzy flinched a little as she realized how far they were from the skiff. 

“You ready for this?” Artho said. Finn suddenly turned around and pulled all three into a hug. 

“I don’t know what I’m about to find but thank you for… everything,” Finn said. “I love all of you.” 

They all hugged tight and whispered I love you back before letting go. Then Finn started walking across the yard with Izzy by their side, hand in hand. 

Finn stood before the door, looking at the geometric green design on the blue background. They raised their goggles and lowered the cloth around their face before taking a deep breath and then knocking. Finn faintly heard some shuffling inside before a little hatch opened in the door and a quiet voice spoke.

“You don’t have to ask for the water. Take what you need, leave what you can,” a woman’s tired voice said. 

“We’re not here for water. We’re looking for a woman named Elliepurr,” Finn said before pausing, not sure how to continue. “We’ve… ummm… we’ve come a long way to see her. Are you her?” 

There was a long silence before the door slowly opened. On the other side was a woman, blonde fur all over her. Her ears twitched and Finn noticed her tail had been bobbed short at some point. She wore a simple t-shirt and long pants in a flat blue color but had bare feet. She shuffled forward a little, holding onto the door frame, and Finn noticed how she dragged one of her legs a bit. Then they noticed her milky eyes. 

“I am. Who are you?” she said, her ears twitching to figure out where they stood before turning her face towards them. The wind shifted a little, blowing from behind Finn, and she froze for a moment before leaning forward a little and taking a long deep breath through her nose. 

Her face became scared as she said, “Annapurra? You’re dead. Ridor said you were dead. Are… are you…”

“My name’s Finn. Maybe you knew me as Finnegan,” they said. “I have someone beside me. Her name is Izzy. Standing a bit back are two of my friends. They’re named Artho and Oak. I don’t know who Annapurra is.”

Elliepurr leaned forward again to smell before straightening back up as she said, “You’re Annapurra. I would never forget your smell. Ever. Ridor wanted to call you Finnegan but I always called you Annapurra. But you’re dead, Ridor said you were dead. Is it my time? Have you come to take me across with you?”

Her fear had started to drain away as she seemed to get acceptance of what she thought was going on as Finn shook their head before grimacing when they realized what they'd done and said out loud, “No, I’m not a ghost, that's not why I'm here but you… you know a lot. Did you have a child? Is that who you think I am?” 

“I did but they’re dead. But you smell just like them. I would never forget,” Elliepurr said, the last part quietly to herself as if in reassurance as she carefully sat down in the doorway. “Ever.”

Finn knelt down and said, “I… I think I’m Annapurra then. I go by Finn now, it’s the only name I’ve ever known, but I’m very much alive. Why do you think I was dead?”

Elliepurr didn’t look at Finn as she said, “Ridor left with you one day and was gone for a long time. He did that sometimes, leave with you, said he didn't trust me alone with you, then he'd come back without you. But he’d always go bring you back but it was never for this long. When he got back, he said you had died from a fever, said he didn’t want to be with me anymore. Brought me out here, left me here, said that people would pay for the water and I wouldn’t have to do anything.”

Finn waited for her as she went silent and a few tears pooled in her eyes. Finn reached forward as they said, “Do you want to hold my hand?” 

Her head came up, startled, but her hand came up like it had a mind of its own and Finn took it in both of their hands and held it tight. 

“Do you want to tell me what happened then?” 

Her head went back down as she said, “I loved him so much. I would have done anything for him, I tried to do everything for him. I know… he didn’t… he never felt that way for me. We’d had you and it was good for a little bit but… then it wasn’t. I was sure he’d come back for me here after a while. Told myself he was just upset, that he needed time. I used to stand in the yard and scream his name hoping he’d come or that maybe… well, he never came. A few people come by every once in a while to check on me, bring me little things I can afford but…”

She trailed off, brought her other hand up, and ran it up Finn’s arm to their shoulder. She squeezed it. Izzy stood to the side of Finn with her goggles pushed up as she wiped at tears. Artho and Oak had an arm around each other in a side hug as they watched. 

“I’m not dreaming am I? You’re really not a ghost? This is real?” Elliepurr said as tears spilled down her face. 

Finn swallowed the lump in their throat and said, “It’s real. I’m really here.” 

She leaned forward and Finn carefully put their arms around her in a hug. They could see into the little room where she lived, dark and bare, a single mattress on the floor, a table with a little stove and a few dishes next to it and knew what they had to do. They didn't love her like they loved Catra and Adora, the only moms they had, but they knew what they were feeling was still love and they could help, so they were going to do so.

“Elliepurr, if you don’t want to stay here, you can come home with me,” Finn said. “I live with two wonderful women, they’re my moms and it’s a long story how that came to be, but there’s a place for you there. If you want it.” 

Elliepurr pulled back from Finn and they could see the hurt on her face as she said, “Your moms?” 

“My moms. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to hurt you but… well, again, it’s a long story but…,” Finn said before taking a deep breath. “Yeah, my moms.” 

“I guess I haven’t been your mother for a long time. I wish I could have been,” she whispered as she leaned back into Finn as the tears fell onto their shoulder. Then in a bitter voice of sorrow and shame she said, “I should have been.”

She went silent as Finn held her. Then Finn heard Izzy crouch down next to both of them. 

“Elliepurr, my name is Izzy,” she said, Emma flashing through her head for some reason. “You’re right, you should have been and it’s not fair that you weren’t and can’t be now. It’s not too late to find out what could be though. Do you want to try?” 

Elliepurr turned her face towards Izzy and for a brief moment said nothing. 

“Yes,” she finally said in a tone that sounded like hope but a hope that hadn’t been felt in so long that she was afraid it would break just from giving it voice. “Yes.”

The trip back was subdued. Elliepurr took nothing with her except a thin wooden staff and The Team made sure she had what she needed for the trip. She sat with Finn and Izzy at the front of the skiff as they flew but didn’t say much. At night she sat close to the campfire and asked a few questions as Finn told her about their life and how they had got to where they were now. When Finn mentioned Catra and Adora by name the first time, they were nervous, wondering what she would say but she just nodded and waited for them to continue. The others told her about themselves and their lives as well. She even gave out a big laugh one night that startled them all when Artho and Oak had been bickering playfully between each other as they cooked and Oak had made a particularly good verbal jab but mostly she was quiet. 

As they flew over the Whispering Woods, Finn felt themself getting tied into worried knots. They hadn’t been able to tell their moms what was going on except to say they were coming back and even that had been by a message. They didn’t know what would happen. Finn knew they’d done the right thing but the closer they flew, the more terrified they got they’d hurt their moms and damage their relationship with them beyond repair, that they wouldn’t understand. Izzy could feel the tension and was holding Finn’s hand as Artho circled over the back yard in the fading early evening light before carefully landing. 

Catra and Adora came out of the house, waving, as Finn waved back before sliding down the side of the skiff. Artho and Oak sat on the edge of the skiff feeling nervous as Catra and Adora walked towards them. Izzy helped Elliepurr to the edge as Finn turned around to carefully help her down. Adora grabbed Catra’s hand, her mouth going dry, her heart starting to pound, as she saw the woman and her resemblance to Finn. Catra squeezed back, tight and fearful, as she took a deep breath and waited to see what would happen. Elliepurr held on to Finn’s arm as Izzy walked on the other side of her. The three walked up to Catra and Adora and stopped an arm’s length apart. Artho and Oak got down and came up to stand behind them as the wind sighed through the winter bare bushes. 

Finn looked Catra and Adora in their eyes as they took a deep breath and said, “Elliepurr, my moms, Catra and Adora, are standing in front of us, Catra to your left, Adora to your right. Moms, this is Elliepurr and she needs our help.”

Adora nodded as Catra squeezed her hand, gently this time.

“Welcome to our home, Elliepurr,” Adora said with a smile as they both stepped forward to hug them all. 

_**Epilogue** _

It’d been months since the end of Finn’s search. In the days after they’d got home, Finn had read the last few letters from the archives, laughing at Sea Hawks that had simply said, “May your life be full of adventure!” before he’d signed off with a love you. Mermista’s had been sweetly out of character for her but then ended with, “If you ever tell anyone about this, we’ll have words.” Scorpia’s had been like a warm hug but it was Perfuma’s that Finn remembered and thought about. Her letter had been longer than the others and Finn could hear her talking like she did in their old sessions, full of care and warmth. The last paragraph was what Finn remembered often though. 

_ No one knows why the universe does what it does. I’ve found it helps to think of it like a flow that carries you along, twisting and turning. It has its own destination, you can sense patterns to the current around you, you can see a little ways ahead of you, and you can move about with effort or be swept along with none. Some people you meet for a little while before the flow carries them away, some fight you in the current and make it difficult, but some people you find and you cling to each other and you each make the journey through the flow better for each other. You’re in the flow, Finn, and I hope you’ve found, and will find, the people to make your journey better and that you do the same for them. _

Finn thought of that as they sat at the kitchen table with their theater notes and saw the little nubby strips that Catra had installed along the edge of the sunken living room the day after Elliepurr had moved in. Catra and Adora had spent that whole day talking with her and walking her through the house to figure out what could be changed to help her navigate through it as easily as possible and then making the changes as quickly as they could. There had been tension at first between all of them as each of them tried to adjust to the change that had come and it still popped up occasionally but they worked through it, talked with each other, and of course brought in a Listener to help them all. In the end though, Finn knew they’d found Elliepurr in the flow and together they were all working to make each other’s journey better.

Behind them Catra piddled around in the kitchen trying out some new baking recipe as a warm early spring breeze came in through the open patio door. Finn looked up as Izzy came in the front door and hung her satchel up. Finn grinned to see where she’d drawn two circles around the scorch marks and then fuzzy angry eyebrows above and a frown below. 

“Hey, Iz,” Finn said as she sat down beside them and gave them a kiss. 

“Welcome back, Izzy,” Catra said. 

“Thank you, Ms. Applesauce,” Izzy said very primly before laughing as Catra rolled her eyes and opened the oven to stick her latest creation in as Finn packed up the notes and put them back in a folder before sitting back, their hand lacing together with Izzy’s. 

“It’s good to see you again,” Finn said, squeezing her hand. “It feels like months!” 

“It’s been a week and a half,” Izzy said with a little smile, squeezing their hand back. “It is good to see you again though. I missed you.” 

“Well you said you had an announcement. What is it?” Finn said, excitedly. 

“Is Adora here yet?” she asked, avoiding the question. 

“She’s in her office,” Catra said as she sat down at the table before turning to face towards the hall. “ADORA! GET DOWN HERE!” 

“Ok. As soon as she’s in here then,” Izzy said, thinking of how proud Grandma had been when she’d told her earlier what she was about to tell them.

“What about Ellie?” Finn said, using the shortened name that Adora had used once, Elliepurr had liked, and the rest had picked up. 

“She’s hanging out with Grandma right now playtesting some word game Spinne invented. Destroying her at it too I might add,” Izzy said with a little smile. “I hope you don’t mind but I’ve already told her because I was telling Grandma and she was there.”

“Nope,” Finn said with a smile. “Have you heard from Emma lately?” 

“I have,” Izzy said. “I talked with her on the data pad last night for a bit. She’s finishing up her sentence soon but she’s already applied to stay on in the greenhouses. She’s going to get her own team possibly and she’ll be living in the castle there.” 

Adora came into the kitchen and as she ruffled Catra’s fur on her head said, “You can just call me normally you know. So who’s living in a castle?” 

“Emma,” Izzy said, taking a pause before going on. “And maybe me.” 

The three looked at Izzy in silence for a moment before Finn hesitatingly said, “Are you… moving to live with her?” 

“No, that's not my announcement. This is. I’ve been up at the Bright Moon Archives for the last week and a half, doing some research, trying to make a decision and I made that decision today. I’m going for Entrapta’s Prize,” Izzy said. “I’m going to try and be the Princess of Dryl.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finished. I have to say, I did draft revisions on this chapter multiple times until I realized it was right where I wanted it, I just didn't want to admit I was done. I can't quite believe I've written 138k+ words for this story. When I started writing fic back in May of 2020 I didn't even imagine that I'd write something this big. I saw people writing big fics and thought, "Wow! They're impressive! Kudos to them!" Now I've done it myself and I take pride in it. I really loved writing this and as I said in the opening note, thank you to everyone who came along for the ride with me on it. 
> 
> Special thank you to my wife who listened to it as it was being created and gave me great feedback. I didn't take all of it, Ridor still lives is proof of that, but she's a great sounding board and a wonderful person. I love you, dear. Thank you for everything.

**Author's Note:**

> This one is big. I've said before the longest fic I ever wrote was Send Me An Angel. Well this is already almost twice as long as that one and I decided that I should start posting it up in chapters. I've already got eight chapters ready to go and I'll be releasing them at a measured pace with the goal of posting the last one as I finish the story. 
> 
> As I said in the opening notes, I'm excited about this one and I'm enjoying it. This probably won't be the final Finn and the Moms of Power story but it is definitely in the nature of a season finale and I'm going all in on it. Thank you for reading and thank you to everyone for being excited about this one. I write for myself and my enjoyment but your excitement is very much part of that enjoyment.


End file.
